Light at the End of the Snowstorm
by AirbornAnomaly
Summary: Months after Anna's wedding, Princess Rapunzel of Corona and her husband Eugene arrive in Arendelle to get to know their distant family. How will the presence of the adventuring couple impact the growing relationships between not only Anna and Kristoff, but Elsa and her best friend Hank? Sequel to "Split the Ice Apart" /s/10025685/1/Split-the-Ice-Apart
1. All Tangled Up

_I would just like to stress that this is a direct sequel to 'Split the Ice Apart' and I suggest reading that before this if you haven't already._

* * *

_About four months later…_

"Have I ever told you how much I love you, Blondie?"

"Many times, Eugene."

"No seriously, do you know just how deeply I love you?"

"I do, Eugene."

"And, I hope, you love me just as much in return?"

"More than anything in the world, Eugene."

"Then why the hell," Eugene spat, "Are you making me go back here?"

His finger was pointing at the modest kingdom visible on the horizon. The gentle rocking of the boat made Arendelle float up and down in Rapunzel's vision, giving the sense of an unstable land mass. It was September and the first tracks of winter snow were creeping their way down the mountains framing the land. It was an ominous reminder of the last time they were here.

Rapunzel sighed. "These are my cousins, Eugene," she explained. "Sure, you got very sick from the cold last time-"

"I almost lost my arm to frostbite!"

The Princess rolled her eyes; she remembered that a bit differently. "You got very sick the last time we were here, but that doesn't mean you should be afraid to come here again. It's been years! Elsa is a different person than she was before!"

"Listen, Rapunzel, I've been around the block a few times," he started. "Back in the day, if I ever had any real trouble in a town or a kingdom I would ignore that place like the plague. No matter how enticing the job, I would skip it if I didn't feel comfortable with the atmosphere. There," he pointed again as if it added credibility to his flimsy arguments, "Is somewhere that gives me that bubbling feeling in the pit of my heart. Arendelle is the kind of kingdom that dashing rogues like me ignore. I mean, who wants to steal from a place where the beautiful princess is as stiff as the walls of the castle safe?"

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Eugene considered the words that just fell out of his mouth and bit his lip. His wife tapped her foot against the deck of the ship menacingly. If he didn't make an excuse quick this was going to be extremely painful. He wondered if she packed a frying pan with them for this purpose. Domestic violence isn't the most tender part of their relationship, but Eugene had to admit that it kept him on the straight and narrow.

"So, it was certainly my surprise when I found the most beautiful princess of all inside an out of the way tower." _That was horrible_. Rapunzel smirked but kept tapping her foot. Eugene sighed. "I promise I didn't break the hearts of any princesses before I fell in love with you, Blondie. I was bad, but not that bad."

The brunette girl seemed pleased with the answer. She leaned forward and kissed her husband on the cheek. "We're coming here to give our best wishes to Princess Anna and spend some time with family. It's bad enough that we missed the wedding. Imagine how much fun that was!"

Eugene smiled warmly. That was his Rapunzel. She was trying to act mature as much as possible after being criticized by a visiting ambassador to Corona but it was impossible to contain the child-like glee of his wife. She was getting close to striking that perfect balance between 'royal' and 'carefree' as that weird red haired prince described it. He seemed kind of peeved when he came over. Wonder what happened to that guy.

"Well, we can always go to Elsa's wedding," Eugene offered as consolation.

"Oh, so now you don't mind going to Arendelle?" Rapunzel accused. Eugene shrugged. "Anyways, I don't see Elsa getting married anytime soon, if ever. Rumour has it that she doesn't even reply to suitors anymore by mail and refuses to elaborate on her denials in person. There's also a bunch of unsavoury rumours stemming from Anna's wedding. Nobody really knows what's up with her."

"Maybe she bats for the other team?" Eugene suggested. Rapunzel looked confused. He blushed just a little. "You know, uh, she…is a confirmed bachelorette?"

"You are so silly sometimes, Eugene!" Rapunzel laughed. "What does that even mean? You and your thief language."

Eugene twiddled his thumbs, hoping that she wouldn't ask him to explain further. He sometimes forgot that these sheltered types weren't the most cultured people in the world and hadn't been to the more 'interesting' areas of the land.

"You are adorable," Eugene said. He rested his hand on the small of her back and rubbed lightly. He felt her sinking into his touch. Oh yeah, he still knew what ladies liked. You could only take so much 'hood' out of the Robin Hoods of the world.

"I hope you still think that after I tell you that I agreed to go on an Arendelle culture trip into the mountains with Anna and Elsa."

"WHAT!?"

* * *

Captain Henrik Eriksson woke up to the full fury of the sun's rays bombarding his eyes. He threw his hand up quickly as a shield until he slowly adjusted to the new light. Surveying the room around him he found it exactly as he left it. The vanity was pressed tightly against the wall, small dents in the paint from where it was repeatedly hit. The large green curtains were drawn apart lazily, allowing enough light in to see but not enough to see inside. The nightstand was a full foot away from the bed, two glasses of water, chilled by magic, sat half finished on it waiting to be emptied. The four posters of the four poster bed were slightly misaligned and the curtain usually hanging from them was deposited on the floor. The floor was wet here and there from melted piles of snow. Exhaustion forced the proprietor of the ice to sleep before she could clean them up neatly.

He turned his attention to the brightest part of the room and smiled at the woman snuggled up to his chest. Her platinum blonde hair cascaded over her back in a familiar braid. Her eyeliner was still immaculate and the magical eye shadow gave her sleeping form an air of lust. Her bright red lipstick was dull, and he could still taste why that makeup had lost its sheen. Her body was cloaked by the green comforter of the bed. He slid his hand to the small of her back and began rubbing, the easiest way to wake her up he knew.

Her eyes shot open and she snuggled even closer somehow. "Good morning," she purred. Her hand snaked its way up to his cheek and she moved up to give him a kiss. "Oh, Captain, my Captain."

He rolled his eyes and held her tight. "I don't think we're going to be able to hide this much longer," Hank warned. He used a free hand to make a sweeping gesture referring to their entwined bodies.

"This is hidden?" Elsa asked. "We danced for hours in front of hundreds of people, I have stopped bothering to even humour visiting bachelors, we make the halls of the castle sing in the evenings, and we make public appearances together constantly. I have kissed you publicly and the passion was there for everyone to see."

Hank swirled his jaw around. Elsa enjoyed watching him think like this. It was cute to visibly see him catch up. "Yes."

"Yes?" Elsa replied.

"Yes," Hank responded.

She gave him a quick kiss then sat up on the bed. "We have to get ready, my cousin is going to be here today."

"We?" Hank wondered with a smirk. "Shouldn't the Queen greet Princess Rapunzel without the presence of her paramour?"

"Oh no, you aren't getting out of this. You had all night to sleep. I need my best royal guard ready and looking his best to escort me out to the docks and help me greet the future King and Queen of Corona."

Hank nodded firmly. "Fair enough," he conceded. He got up and made for his pile of clothes in the corner of the room. Seeing him dress made Elsa feel like she should wear real clothes today instead of a magical dress. It had been nearly a whole week since she put on a tangible outfit.

"You'll like spending time with your cousin, Elsa," Hank assured, "She's a very nice girl. Reminds me of Anna in a way. She was very kind to her husband when he got a little frostbite last time they were here. The guy wouldn't stop complaining but she hung on his every word as if he was actually dying." Elsa had nearly forgotten that Hank had met Rapunzel before. She herself was a little too preoccupied during their last visit to spend much time with her, of course.

"I'm glad," Elsa said, "Since I asked her to come on a trip to the mountains with us while she was here."

Hank spun around to face her. "You asked her to what? Those people had never seen snow in their lives before the last time they came here! How are they going to survive a camping trip up North Mountain?"

"They'll survive because they have the Queen of Snow and Ice and her true love Captain Henrik Eriksson with them," Elsa explained. "As well as the scrappy Princess Anna and her husband Baron Kristoff Bjorgman, who has plenty of experience in the wilderness mind you."

"They're doomed," Hank condemned while pulling his shirt over his head. Elsa threw a pillow at him.

_KNOCK KNOCK_

"Who is it?" Elsa called, knowing perfectly well there was only one person who knocked on her door like that.

"Kai, you majesty. The ship from Corona has arrived if you aren't too busy with your pet."

"Big words from a manservant," Hank growled. A glare from Elsa silenced any further outburst.

"Of course he's in there," Kai groaned. "Anyways, Princess Rapunzel is here and you better get down to the docks."

"Thank you, Kai," Elsa dismissed. Her voice was cold and forceful, just enough to let him know he was out of line. Footsteps were heard retreating from the door.

"I hate that guy," Hank declared.

"You shouldn't, he has nothing against you personally. He just really cares about Arendelle. He wants the best for the kingdom and he thinks you have a fear of commitment. I'm sure if you were to talk to him and work things out he would love you."

"I care about Arendelle too but I'm not prickly about it," Hank complained, completely ignoring the last half of Elsa's statement.

"Yes you are," Elsa argued. Hank shrugged. She rolled her eyes with a smile and went to her closet, wondering which of her seemingly endless collection of dresses would be the best for the occasion.

* * *

"You aren't going to be able to hide it much longer," Kristoff warned.

Anna looked at her bare body in the mirror and admired her fuller curves. Her chest rivaled Elsa's now and her hips were well on their way there. It would be a time for joy if it weren't for the fact that her stomach was going to be bloating soon. Her tummy was already developing a little bump and it was stiff as a rock. She had a month at the most before it was clearly shown to the entire world just how pregnant she was, and that was very pregnant indeed.

"I'm scared, Kristoff," Anna whispered.

"Why?" the Ice Harvester wondered. "We're married. What's so bad about us having a child?"

"What if Elsa is mad at me for getting pregnant so early into our marriage?"

"I doubt Elsa will have very long to go until you're sailing the same ship at the rate she's going," Kristoff quipped. Anna giggled.

"I don't know," Anna said, "I just don't feel comfortable yet."

"We can do it together," Kristoff suggested, "Maybe it won't be as scary?"

Anna shook her head. "It will be scary no matter what." Kristoff sighed, there was really nothing he could do. She had her mind set and nothing was going to steer her off course. "Maybe I could tell Rapunzel first," Anna considered. "Baby steps to build up to the big one."

"How do you know that Captain Eriksson hasn't already told Elsa you're pregnant?" Kristoff asked. The Queen and her guard were inseparable before, now they were glued together. They ate, worked, bathed, and slept together. It would be no shocker that they bore all their secrets to each other as well.

"I can trust Hank," Anna answered. She wasn't completely sure of that though. This was a bigger secret than usual. He didn't tell Elsa of her engagement, so she had a good track record to go on.

Kristoff seemed satisfied with that. He took off his hat and wrung it in his hands. "Do I have to go with you to greet your cousin?"

Anna looked at him incredulously. "Of course you do. You're my husband and she wasn't at the wedding. She expects you."

Kristoff groaned. "I don't like dressing up."

Anna giggled and stepped over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You look so good when you do though! Besides, this is an easy thing that'll help to get you used to royal duties. Imagine what it must be like for Elsa to have to parlay with ambassadors and argue over trade and treaties."

"Ugh, am I going to have to do that too?" Kristoff asked.

"Probably," Anna replied, "You signed up for it by marrying a princess."  
"Maybe that was more trouble than it's worth," Kristoff teased while running a hand through her hair. She smiled and playfully slapped him on the cheek.

"Get dressed before I go all French monarchy on you," Anna threatened with a smile.

"French monarchy?"

"Aren't they the ones who usually kill their spouses?"

Kristoff laughed and went digging through his closet for something nice to wear. He may not like it, but he would at least put an effort in. Maybe Anna's cousin would be yet another fun person he almost missed out on due to social anxiety.

In his experience, she probably wasn't. For every Anna there were a thousand assholes. He sighed and wondered how a lowly ice harvester ever found himself in this situation.

* * *

_Just a quick note, I'm going to keep my old update schedule of Wednesdays and Saturdays. Keep an eye out or follow/favourite/review to your heart's content! Lots of setup, plot starts Wednesday. See you then!  
_


	2. First Encounters

"This place sucks already."

"Shut up, Eugene!" Rapunzel commanded. The ship was docking and the pair was standing on top of the deck. Well within earshot of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna if one were to speak loudly, which her husband just did. Anna waved at them from her place on the docks with nearly all the childlike glee of, well, Rapunzel. Next to her and holding her hand was an ox of a man in an ill-fitting dressy suit. His hair was combed but it stuck out in places as if it wasn't usually. He looked ridiculous and uncomfortable and was definitely her husband. Rapunzel frowned when she realized that this was exactly the kind of man Eugene would have a great time with if he could find a way to stop teasing him. A quick look at her husband confirmed that her suspicions about his dastardly nature were founded. He was smirking like a vulture in a battlefield.

Queen Elsa stood directly next to Anna, her hands held together in front of her. It was a very welcoming gesture, and one that she remembered the Queen holding for most of her coronation day. She looked vastly different though. Rapunzel had seen this dress and hair on the day she left Arendelle years ago but her cousin looked even brighter now. The snowflakes in her braid sparkled like diamonds and the dress shimmered without being too distracting in the light. She had an extremely happy expression frozen on her face, entirely unlike the one painters usually depicted her with. Elsa was very popular with the painters. It is said that you can find an interpretation of Arendelle's queen in every market on every corner of the world.

Directly behind the Queen was a man wearing the royal guard uniform of Arendelle. He stood extremely close to her, nearly touching. It struck Rapunzel as an odd gesture since a woman who can bend the elements presumably had little use for bodyguards. He had dark brown hair that was combed back neatly and a completely clean shaven face. His sunken cheeks and soft jaw line made him look young but experienced. He was an intimidating presence, no doubt why Elsa kept him so close. Rapunzel wondered how many people made attempts on Elsa's life after her outburst years ago and was starting to think that a bodyguard might actually be necessary.

An unexpected bump knocked her out of her thoughts and off of her feet. Eugene reached out and grabbed her to keep her upright. The ship was docked and the crew was pulling out a board to bridge the deck to the dock. Eugene led her by the hand and helped her off the boat. Rapunzel swayed in her steps, her body not even close to adjusted to being on dry, unmoving land. It was no surprise to her that Eugene was completely unaffected; he did something that surprised her daily. He was always interesting and always had a story to go along with one of his previously unknown talents. Shaking the thoughts away, Rapunzel held her best impression of grace and stepped up to meet the Arendelle royals.

"Queen Elsa, Princess Anna," she greeted with a curtsy. "It's nice to be able to finally spend time with my cousins. This is my husband, Eugene." He bowed on cue. His expression was locked in his 'suave face'. The sort of in-between-smoulder that he used when greeting any ladies.

Anna and Elsa both curtsied themselves. The guard dipped into a deep bow, a not-so-subtle kick from the Princess prompted the blonde man to bow as well. "Princess Rapunzel," Elsa returned, the picture of sophisticated grace. "It is truly great to meet you at a time where I'm not feeling quite so…"

"Withdrawn?" Anna suggested. "Depressed?"

"Yes, thanks Anna," Elsa replied with an icy glare. She calmed quickly and the smile returned to the edges of her cheeks. "I'm sure you recognized my sister, Anna. The kind man behind her is Baron Kristoff Bjorgman, her husband."

"Who's the stiff?" Eugene cut in. Rapunzel smiled, it was just like her love to notice the law before anything else. You could take the man away from thieving but you could never steal the thief away from the man. She had to keep an eye on him in the markets for a couple years after his "retirement". The kleptomaniac would swipe at anything for no particular reason if he didn't have someone watching him. Habits really are hard to break.

Elsa smirked at the exact same time in the exact same way as the man behind her. It was really odd to see. "This is my personal guard, Captain Henrik Eriksson."

"Pleased to meet you, Your Highness," the guard spoke with yet another bow. His voice was smoky and mid-pitch, not too much unlike her husband's, but noticeably darker.

"Well met, Captain," Rapunzel answered. She was knocking it out of the park with her formal manners today. Maybe it was because her audience was much younger than usual. Arendelle was an interesting place with all of its young talent. "I'm sorry about my husband's choice of words."

Captain Eriksson shrugged. "I've been called worse."

"You can call him Hank," Elsa imposed. The captain gave her a curious look but slipped it off quickly. "You should call me Elsa and I think Anna would appreciate a lack of formality. I won't speak for Kristoff, but he'll probably feel the same." The blonde man nodded and pat down his hair. It only made it look worse.

"You'll speak for him though?" Eugene asked, pointing at Hank.

Rapunzel elbowed his stomach playfully. "Oh thank you, Elsa! I don't know how much longer I could talk like that!" She leaned back far, loosening her posture and making a sharp crack. Anna and Elsa winced. "Being on that ship so long sucked! Do you have anything planned tonight? Let's do something fun!"

Eugene rolled his eyes. Elsa looked dumbfounded at the sudden switch, Anna was smiling ear to ear. "Well," Elsa cleared her throat, "I was planning on having a welcoming dinner for you."

"That sounds great!" Rapunzel cheered, "Now, I want to see your castle. Do you have one of those really long swirling banisters?"

"Do we ever!" Anna exclaimed. "I even lubed them up for maximum sliding capacity."  
"You did what?" Elsa scoffed.

"Shush, Elsa, it's time for fun!" Anna dismissed. She grabbed Rapunzel's hand and the girls ran off happily towards the castle.

"Two of them?" Elsa groaned.

"You'll love it," Hank assured, giving her arm a quick squeeze and urging her on.

Eugene darted his eyes between the Queen with her guard and the Baron left behind. The large man had an oddly concerned gaze focused on his wife, and couldn't stop touching his horrible hair. The Queen smiled a little too brightly at her servant's touch. Something was up here, and Flynn Rider was going to get to the bottom of it. Maybe Arendelle wasn't as terrible as he thought…

* * *

Yep, not so bad. Rapunzel and Anna were off so quickly they couldn't be found. Elsa decided to give Eugene a tour while they looked for the girls. He was walking with her and behind him, side by side, were Elsa's guard and Princess Anna's husband. It felt eerily similar to the march to a prison cell. Luckily for Eugene he was comfortable in that familiar situation.

"Here's my study," Elsa said gesturing inside the door she just opened. Eugene popped his head in and was greeted by a comfy looking long room. There was a desk along one wall with a well-worn chair and across from it was a hearth adorned with ornamental runes. A huge armchair and a couch were gathered around the fireplace and the chair's seat looked used. The window on the wall gave a great view of the fjord.

"Nice carpet," Eugene complimented. Unlike the green floors found in most of the castle, this carpet was a deep blue with white snowflake designs. "A bit heavy-handed though, not a fan of subtlety?"

Elsa smiled softly. "It was just replaced recently," she explained. Captain Eriksson coughed. "Anna suggested the pattern. It's cute."

"Isn't it pretty?" a voice piped up from below Eugene. He looked down to find a snowman staring him right in the eyes. Eugene's jaw dropped. "Hi, I'm Olaf! I like warm hugs!" The snowman stuck out his arms expectantly.

"Ahhhh!" Eugene jumped back into a loose fencing stance, holding a hand up defensively. Hank raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is _that_!?"

"He just said, he's Olaf," Elsa replied. She knelt down to give the snowman a placating hug and turned back to her visitor. "I made him."

"You made him?" Eugene gawked. He received confirmative nods from all three of his hosts. "Wow, that's…actually really impressive."

"Oh, I don't like to brag," Olaf said, inspecting one of his branches nonchalantly, "But I'm the only living snowman in the kingdom."

"More like in the world," Eugene corrected. He knelt down and prodded Olaf's snowy flesh. "I've never seen anything like you!"

"Stop, stop!" Olaf giggled, pushing him away, "That tickles. Now, I didn't say 'in the world' and I meant it." Eugene looked to Elsa who gave him a loose shrug in response. "Who are you? Do you know the cute girl in the purple dress who showed up today? Rapunzel? She gave me a hug _and_ a kiss!"

"That sounds like my wife," Eugene affirmed.

Olaf smiled wide. "You are one lucky guy!" He turned to Elsa. "It was nice seeing you all, I'm going to go hang out with Sven. Bye Elsa! Bye Kristoff! Bye Hank! Bye Rapunzel's Husband!" And with that, he was off just as speedily as he arrived. Eugene watched him waddle in awe.

"Any more surprises like that?" he asked of the Queen.

"Maybe when we're in the mountains," she teased, "Now, let's get moving."

They left the study and continued down the hallways, this time with Elsa and Kristoff in front and Eugene falling in line with Captain Eriksson.

"So, you fence?" the guard asked, turning to Eugene.

"Hold up there, Cheekbones, I prefer to use the term 'swashbuckling'."

Hank smirked. "You ever practice?"

_More than you know_, Eugene thought. "Yes, back in Corona. You?"

The soldier nodded. "A bit, not as much as I should. My opponents here are usually over the age of forty. The younger guards are still being trained."

"I think I see where you're going with this."

"If it wouldn't be too much to ask, Sir," Hank started, "I would greatly appreciate a chance to spar with you."

"Hank!" Elsa scolded.

"No, no, don't worry, Elsa. I would love to dance with your bodyguard. I'm free whenever the ball and chain lets me have a chance," Eugene said with a wink.

"So is Hank," Elsa reminded, "But-"

_CRASH_

A loud noise from deeper down the hall. It was a telltale sign of Anna's mischief, but this time it gave Elsa more worry than usual; her sister was gallivanting with a foreign dignitary. The last thing Arendelle needed was an(other) international incident.

"I think that's them," Kristoff deadpanned.

"So _that's_ what you sound like," Eugene commented. Kristoff smiled.

Olaf ran out from the adjoining hallway ahead, his chest where his butt should be and streaking around like his life depended on it. His snowy face was etched with the most telling childhood expression: 'I didn't do it.' He took one look at the approaching party before bolting the other way as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

"Let's go see what happened," Elsa sighed.

* * *

_A/N_

I love writing Flynn so much. Those dashing rogue types are the best and their dialogue is a blast. The chapter split is a bit odd here. It was either two ~2,000 word chapters or one monster chapter. Sorry but I opted for the shorter ones, even if this one ends up being a bit plot-weak on its own, to give myself more time to devote to writing the ending. I'm writing and re-writing a LOT so I hope its good. You guys will find out in a few weeks. You _will_ be surprised, I guarantee it.


	3. Dinner and a Show

"Nice tablecloth, Elsa," Rapunzel complimented as she entered the dining hall. She had calmed down after her initial excitement due to a single trip down the main stairwell which resulted in yet another damaged suit of armour. It wasn't like they didn't have more, but those were classics. Anna had pushed Rapunzel down the banister to 'giver her extra speed', a terrible idea with hindsight. _Like most of Anna's 'fun' ideas_, Elsa thought. She decided she could make an exception for her cousin and try not to care about the damages this time. Try.

"Thank you, but you'll have to give the credit for that to my trusted hand, Gerda. She has the eye for fashion in this house," Elsa explained. She motioned for her guests to take seats. Anna and Rapunzel sat next to each other, their husbands on either side of them. Hank held out a chair for Elsa opposite the visiting Princess and pushed it in when she took her seat.

"Your Majesty," he dismissed before bowing and making for the door.

"Where are you going, Hank?" Elsa asked.

Hank's face was blank. "To wait outside?"

"I had a place for you made and everything," The Queen pouted. Rapunzel didn't take notice but Eugene casually watched the exchange.

"It, uh, probably isn't the most appropriate idea for a guard to eat with a royal ambassador," Hank insisted.

"We've been through this before, Hank," Elsa scolded. "You're my best friend and that gives you enough authority to eat with us." She pulled out the chair next to her and patted harshly. "Now sit."

He stumbled over like a lost puppy and took his seat awkwardly. Eugene watched him unclasp the top button of his uniform and place his napkin in his lap.

"Do you have a collar too?" Eugene quipped. Elsa's face quickly reddened and Anna broke out into laughter.

"Oh man, I say he's whipped all the time!" the ginger girl giggled. Out of nowhere, Anna yelped and shivered. Elsa smiled mischievously.

"I think he's doing a great job," the Queen noted, softly patting her soldier's hand. "It's what a Royal Guard is expected to do. Right, Hank?"

The soldier's face was unmoving. Everyone turned to him expectantly.

"Woof," he barked.

The whole table, minus Elsa, began laughing. Anna grabbed Kristoff for support, the force of her cackling driving her off of her chair. Kristoff was trying to hold back his own noise but wasn't doing a good job of it. Rapunzel happily giggled and Eugene slammed his fist on the table during chuckles to show his appreciation. The Queen hid her ever reddening face behind her braid. Hank subtly slipped his hand under the tablecloth and took Elsa's. He squeezed an apology. She gripped tight and refused to let go.

"Well, it seems we're all getting along just fine," Elsa mused as a way of trying to change the topic.

"I agree!" Eugene cheered. He slid his arm around his wife and leaned his chair back, balancing on two legs. "Although, I've barely heard a peep out of tall, white, and pudgy over there."

"Hey!" Kristoff jeered, "This is the natural body type of a guy who spends his days in the mountains. There's tons of muscle under here!" Anna placed a hand on his chest.

"Kristoff isn't too great with people. He can come off as mean," Anna explained.

"Really?" Rapunzel questioned, "He seems like a wonderful guy to me."

"Thank you," Kristoff exclaimed. "I'm not fat either. Not every man has to be cut like Hank." Eugene could swear he saw Elsa's eyes flutter. "And what do you mean I'm not great with people, Anna? I get along with everyone just fine."

"Stop being so silly, Sweetie," Anna laughed, rubbing his cheek affectionately. "No need to get worked up."

"Silly? What's silly is how you have no confidence in my people skills," Kristoff whined. Elsa raised an eyebrow and leaned away from the table, effectively removing herself from conversation.

"I have confidence," Anna assured, "I'm just afraid that people will get the wrong idea about you. I did at first."

"I'm getting better though," Kristoff argued, "Right, Hank?"

Hank swirled his jaw around before answering. "Yes. She has a bit of a point though."

Kristoff groaned. "Way to take my side, 'Best Man'."

"I think he means you need to speak up more," Eugene cut in, "You're acting like a piece of furniture that Anna enjoys seating herself on." Elsa choked on her breath and uncrossed her legs then crossed them the other way.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel scolded.

"How do you know that, you've only known me for a few hours," Kristoff reminded.

"I've been places," Eugene legitimized, "And I know people. I know your type. Strong but submissive. Nothing wrong with it but that's who you are."

"Kristoff isn't submissive," Anna said, "He just really loves me."

Eugene shrugged. "Same thing. I have it too, just ask Blondie." Rapunzel nodded happily.

Kristoff frowned. He looked his wife in the eyes. "Am I just a piece of furniture, Anna?"

Anna smiled. "You're the cutest furniture ever! Now stop being so sensitive, it's just jokes."

Kristoff grimaced and stood up violently. The table-wear shook and Hank had to grab his glass to prevent a spill. "I'm going to go hang out with Sven," he announced before stomping out of the dining room.

"Kristoff!" Anna called, "We didn't eat yet!" No response.

Rapunzel gave her husband a stern look. Eugene blushed a bit. "I'm, ah, sorry about that."

"No big deal," Anna shrugged. "He'll be okay. Can we eat chocolate for dessert, Elsa?"

The Queen broke her silence and furrowed her brow. "Really, Anna? Shouldn't you go after him?"

"He needs time to himself," Anna explained.

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked.

"Yep, he does this every once in a while. I just let him be and he comes back eventually."

"Wait, you never talk to him when he gets like this?" Eugene pressed.

"People make bad choices when they're mad or scared or stressed. Trolls sung that to me. _Throw a little love their way and it brings out the best_!" the youngest girl sang.

"Shouldn't you throw him some love then?" Rapunzel suggested, consciously ignoring the part about trolls. Rapunzel's was an odd sort of suggestion, one that was both accusatory and kind. Very calm and relaxing yet unsettling to Anna's guilt.

The princess of Arendelle frowned and fidgeted in her dress. "He'll get love when he comes back. He knows that."

"Why make him wait?" Rapunzel continued honestly.

Anna sunk in her seat. "He needs time alone."

"Does he?" Eugene interrupted. "I know that if it were me, I would want support. It's a bit selfish to leave him out to dry."

Anna looked to Hank, silently begging him to take her side. He shook his head slowly. Anna stood up nearly as loud as Kristoff did. "I didn't come to dinner for advice on how to love my husband!" She stormed out of the room.

Elsa was perfectly still. She would be sweating bullets if it weren't for her very useful ability to cool the air around her. She held Hank's hand even tighter and felt horrible when his icy finger tips touched her knuckles. She got herself in control quickly.

Rapunzel and Eugene looked out the open door with odd expressions. Both sighed simultaneously.

"I think I messed up again, Rapunzel," Eugene admitted.

"Yeah, but this was better than last time," his wife offered. Elsa didn't want to know.

"Well, we can still eat dinner," The Queen suggested.

"Yes, let's," Rapunzel answered, clearly unsettled.

"Alright," Elsa continued, "I hear Corona is absolutely breathtaking this time of year."

Rapunzel smiled and answered, happy to speak of her kingdom. Elsa imagined that this must be what it was like to be a guest at her coronation.

* * *

The dark of night, Flynn Rider's nefarious domain. The rogue slipped from his bed, careful not to wake his wife, and changed his clothes. He buttoned up his familiar blue vest and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a little while since he wore this and he was afraid it wouldn't fit. He was silent as a mouse as he pulled a grappling hook out of his clothes trunk and skulked out of the guest bedroom. One might find it odd to bring a grappling hook on vacation; Flynn would argue that you never know when you might need one.

He remembered the details of his tour, each doorway leading into a place he was only somewhat aware of. He knew exactly where he was going though: top of the castle. Elsa's room was on the wall facing the village and had a large window. Easy to see in, but easy to see out. He would have to be careful.

He made his way to the staircase Elsa said led to the roof. Good thing she didn't ask why he wanted to know where that was. He hated having to explain himself. He roamed up to the steps like a shadow and stealthily lifted himself through the hatch to the roof.

The first thing he noted was just how cold it was. Frosty air snapped at his forearms, causing him to roll down his sleeves. The gusty winds howled around him, threatening to knock him off balance into the icy waters below the castle. One single misstep or loose tile would end him, and he would never see his wife again. He shivered, more at the thought than the wind, but carried on. He had gone through worse conditions back in the day. _I was eight or nine years younger then though_…

He readied his grappling hook and made his way to the place he approximated Elsa's window to be. Carefully crouching and using a hand for support he buried the large hook between two shingles. Four rigorous tugs later and it stood strong, giving the thief enough confidence to unfurl the rope and begin walking backwards. He took his time walking over the lip of the castle's roof and repelled lightly down the single story to get to the first row of large windows. Elsa's room would be on top. He vaulted off a ledge and swung like a monkey to the nearest window on his left to take a peek inside. It was some sort of drawing room filled with yarn, fabric, silks, threads, and needles. Flynn frowned as his body naturally swayed back to center with the pendulous movement of the rope. He planted his feet on the wall and shimmied his way over to the window on his right, a good eight feet away. Inside here he found Princess Anna asleep in bed, her hair frizzed up something fierce. The funny sight didn't help the prowler's heart from sinking at the realization she was completely alone. He had really done it this time. If only he didn't always have to be so witty and charming. His mouth ran away on him too much.

Flynn knew he was close but the next window was about fifteen feet away. He knew he should climb back up and reset his hook, but he was a lazy man and wanted to go back to his wife. He wanted this finished. Taking a deep breath, he pushed forward and loosened his grip on the rope, letting it flow freely in his hands. Using all of his toned leg muscles he ran across the wall as fast as he could, carrying the rope with him. When he reached the window he stopped hard, gripping the rope tight and using his other hand to grasp the edge of the window. The hook whined, but stayed intact. Flynn hoped it was strong enough after that to support the massive amount of weight it was going to be hit with when he tried to cross over to his previous spot. This was not the best of his ideas.

Sighing at his own stupidity, Flynn Rider stretched his body far enough to pop his head over the window. Luckily the curtains were open and he had a full view inside the modest room. The only furniture to be seen was a combined dresser vanity and the large four poster bed positioned about halfway down the long room. Flynn raised an eyebrow victoriously. Inside the bed, Queen Elsa and her bodyguard were cuddling like their lives depended on it. His nose was buried in her platinum blonde hair and her face was nested in his thin chest hair. It was cute. Kind of weird though to see a couple somewhat similar in size compared to him and Rapunzel, who he sometimes felt like he could fit in the palm of his hand. The height similarity made them look like equals, but the positioning gave off an odd vibe; almost like worship.

Unfamiliar positioning or not, this explained all of the Queen's "strange" behaviour. He couldn't wait until he could tell his wife. It was slightly disappointing to find out the beautiful mysterious Queen wasn't a lesbian though. _Oh well_.

He smiled satisfactorily and removed his grasp on the window…causing his body to fall rapidly, swinging back to the place he started. His arms flailed wildly searching for anything to grab hold of. His boots scrapped the wall, trying to hook an errant window sill. When it was very clear that the rope was taking him on a ride he had no control of he used both hands to grip it and closed his eyes. He prayed to whatever God out there cared enough about him to allow him to see his wife again.

The rope went taut as he reached the end of his arc and the line strained under his weight. Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Flynn began moving his arms frantically in an attempt to pull himself back to the roof. He began to swing back, the fibers of the rope giving audible complaints at the weight of the rogue. He kept climbing, moving as fast as he could to clear the last ten feet above him. Five feet. Two feet.

He let go of the rope and grabbed the ledge of the roof with both hands. Using the last bit of energy he had, he hefted his body over the edge of the roof and onto the shingled ceiling. He let out the breath he was holding for the last half a minute and smiled. He laughed, quietly at first but then at the top of his lungs. Yet again, Flynn Rider escapes certain death and walks away with what he wanted. Somebody out there really cares about the young man.

Well, not so young anymore. He _hurt._ Everywhere. The only thing on his mind was sleep and a hot bath. Hopefully a hot bath with his wife.

_I love my life_, he thought.

* * *

_A/N_

This is what I meant about continuing things from Split the Ice Apart. Readers told me that Anna was acting very selfishly in that story and I agree. I didn't intend to, but I ended up writing an Anna a bit different from who she is at the end of Frozen. I failed Anna, and I want to continue the character arc of my Anna and Kristoff here to rectify that. Sure, this is just me making excuses for Anna being ooc, but at least it led to a plot point.

Looking back on it, I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter. I might go back and change some things (description, dialogue, etc.) when I'm all done. What do you think?


	4. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

Kristoff was lounging in the stables, his back rested against the coat of his trusty reindeer, his hands caressing the strings of his trusty lute. His white t-shirt with the embroidered Arendelle crest was covered in dirt and straw. His messy blonde hair was greasy and stiff. Not the most regal looking man but appearances could be deceptive.

"_Sven, I'm beginning to wonder_," he sang, "_If I've made the best choices in life. It is a massively obvious blunder, to have already knocked up my wife."_

The reindeer bobbed his head to the lute's tune and opened his mouth in anticipation of "his" part. "_Kristoff, good buddy, I'll tell you, this cannot be faulted on chance. Any man in the world would've knew, that was a time to keep it in your pants_."

"Don't be a jerk, Sven," Kristoff joked. "_Now, you know you can't blame me, anyone in my place would do the same! Anna is just so goddamned sexy, to deny her you must be insane_."

"_Don't try and pretend that you aren't to blame_," sang another man stepping into the stables. His eyes were brown and piercing, framed by heavy eyebrows. He had on his usual royal guard uniform and his hair was thrown back and trimmed carefully. His sunken cheeks and soft jaw were completely devoid of stubble.

"Do you shave every couple of hours?" Kristoff asked.

Hank shrugged. "Elsa loves it smooth."

"I wish I could grow a beard. I bet Anna would like it."

"Don't worry, Kristoff," Hank assured. He padded over and sat next to the larger man. He sunk into Sven's hide and scratched his neck on the bristly hairs. He rubbed his friend's shoulder. "Maybe when you grow up you can grow a beard too."

"Shut up," Kristoff chided, gently brushing Hank's hand off. He smiled for a moment before his face sunk in terror. "How much of that song did you hear?"

"The whole thing," Hank revealed. "You're quite the singer. You should do it more often."

"Can't say the same for you," Kristoff replied, earning a chuckle from the guard. He stood up and put his lute on a shelf in the stable. Tons of brown hair clung to the back of his white shirt. Hank self-consciously leaned forward so that he wasn't resting against Sven. "Sorry about those lyrics, they weren't the most family-friendly."

Hank shrugged again. Kristoff wondered if that was his response to every apology. He had never seen him do anything else. "It's admirable to admit your mistakes," Captain Eriksson started. "Too bad this one is permanent. I went twenty-six years without giving in to my carnal urges, Bjorgman. You couldn't wait a little longer?" Hank finished.

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "You're a hypocrite. Why didn't you wait until you were married?"

Hank swirled his jaw. "I am." Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "I'm married to the law of Arendelle. I'm also in love with that law."

"More like making love to that law, you asshole," Kristoff teased.

"Yeah, I guess I don't have much moral high ground here," Hank admitted. "Do you want to talk?"

Kristoff sighed. "Not right now. She'll come around and everything will go back to normal."

"Don't let it," Hank ordered. Kristoff flinched. He was using his law officer voice. The one Kristoff had to endure when they were out in town without Elsa. "You don't want everything to go back to normal, you want things to get fixed. There is always room for improvement in every relationship."

"Even your story-book romance with the Queen?"

Hank darkened. Kristoff felt a small tinge of regret in his heart. "Yeah, even that. We all have our reservations, our problems, our pain. When you can talk about yours, I will talk about mine."

"Fair enough," Kristoff conceded. "Still, I wish I got the kind of respect from Anna you do from Elsa. I've never seen anything she loves so completely and fairly."

"What does the Queen love completely and fairly?" Eugene interrupted, poking his head in the stables.

Kristoff opened his mouth to answer but was cut off from the voice of the man on the ground. "Anna," Hank said. He got off the ground and smiled.

"Sitting on the job, Eriksson? Tisk tisk!" Eugene chided.

"I'm not perfect, Sir," Hank apologized.

"Nobody is, baby. Except for Rapunzel. Now, how about we have some male-bonding time. Ready to play with our swords?"

"I'd love to," Hank replied. It was amazing to Kristoff that Hank was able to keep a completely straight face through that.

"Eugene!" came a yell from outside. Corona's prince-by-marriage rolled his eyes and made a motion of a noose with his hands. Kristoff laughed.

"What is it, Blondie?" Eugene asked. Rapunzel was running across the courtyard to the stables, Elsa trying to keep pace with her.

"I forgot to give you your good-luck kiss before you left to challenge your opponent!" Rapunzel explained, arriving at the stables and trying to catch her breath. Eugene turned to the other men in the room and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm with the guys right now, Honey. Can we talk later?"

"But you've never lost when I've kissed you before challenging someone!" Rapunzel whined.

"He already challenged me," Hank said.

"Oh no!" Rapunzel squeaked. She grabbed Eugene by the face and pulled him down into a deep kiss. Kristoff and Hank both raised their eyebrows. Elsa finally arrived, panting and aching, and also raised an eyebrow at the sight. After a good thirty seconds of solid lip locking, Rapunzel let Eugene go and blushed.

"Extra luck," she explained. Kristoff smiled.

"Alright then!" Eugene exclaimed. It was impossible to hide the sudden upkick in his demeanor. "Let's get to it!" He walked off, Rapunzel on his trail. Elsa rolled her eyes and huffed before moving to follow them yet again. Hank turned to Kristoff.

"You want to watch me beat on royalty?" Hank asked.

"Nah," Kristoff replied. "Go have fun."

Hank gave the man a concerned smile before leaving to catch up to the others. Kristoff watched them leave and considered how he was going to go talk to Anna.

* * *

"Hank, I don't want you to do this."

"Why?" he asked Elsa as he slipped his breastplate over his head. He began fumbling with the straps to tie it.

"Do you really need to fight our guest? Arendelle is on shaky ground with most of our partners, I don't need you to cause an incident and isolate someone else," Elsa explained in harsh whispers. Across the room Rapunzel was whispering something into Eugene's ear. It seemed more pleasant than Elsa's complaints to Hank.

"It's for fun," Hank assured, finishing his straps, "Besides, I never get to practice with anyone good."

"How do you know he's good?"

"No helmets!" Eugene yelled to Hank. The guard put down the helmet in his hands and smirked at Elsa. She frowned and crossed her arms.

"No blunted swords!" Eugene added, giving Hank reason to raise an eyebrow. "We play until first blood! No stabbing though." Rapunzel all of a sudden looked very cross with her husband. Elsa looked livid.

"I'm stopping this, Hank."  
"No," he urged, grabbing her arm. She spun in her spot to chew him out but couldn't when she became paralyzed by the trusting look in his eyes. She relaxed and sighed. Elsa took one step to her right to allow Hank to step out and meet his opponent. The armour was heavy and uncomfortable in the kind of way that would keep him on his toes. He felt good.

"You play for blood, Sir?" Hank asked while testing the weight of the sword in his hand. Both combatants were dressed in full plate armour and armed with standard issue military swords. Not exactly fencing, as Hank had suggested.

"No, Captain Eriksson, I play for high stakes," Eugene drawled, "So how about we make a wager?"

Hank nodded slowly and shifted in his boots.

"I win, and you tell me a secret," Eugene proposed. "Your biggest secret."

Hank ran a hand through his hair and swirled his jaw around. He eyed Eugene very suspiciously and tightened his grip on the pommel of his sword. "Okay. I win though, and you send me very nice fencing equipment from Corona."

Eugene nodded enthusiastically. "Deal! Now, get ready." He took a huge step back and brandished his sword. He leaned mainly on his back foot and the sword was held out lazily in his left hand. Hank recognized the stance from illustrations in books about daring rogues his father read to him as a child. Errol something or other. It was amusing to see the pose enacted so faithfully in person.

Hank took his own step back and spread his legs out a bit. He held his sword forward in a defensive stance, with the blade horizontal and slightly angled. He bent his knees, ready to charge or absorb a blow, whichever he needed to do first.

The fighters waited expectantly. Rapunzel cleared her throat and yelled "Go!" from her place on the sidelines with Elsa.

Hank struck first, diving forward with a swift strike. The flat of his blade just missed Eugene's moving wrist. Hank followed his whole body through with the sword, rolling down and tucking under Eugene's own slash. He jumped to his feet and brought his sword up in an arc. There was a loud clang as the blades collided. Hank pushed, hoping to outmuscle the smaller man, and the sharp edge of his own sword nearly nipped Eugene's cheek before he swept his leg and took Hank's out from under him. The guard fell to the floor and gave his partner an incredulous look. Eugene smiled obnoxiously in response.

"You cheated," Hank accused.

"No one ever said there was a rule against hands and feet," Eugene countered. He took a step back, allowing Hank to get up. At least he hadn't cut him while he was on the ground and in shock. It wouldn't happen again.

They ran at each other once more, this time Eugene taking the first attack. Rapunzel and Elsa watched on in very different states. Rapunzel looked amused and excited, but the Queen's face showed nothing but fear and worry. Hank used his heavily armoured forearm to knock away a blow and thrust his sword forward. Eugene expertly wove his torso out of the way and brought his weapon across hard on Hank's backplate. The soldier screamed in agony and fell forward. Elsa gasped and it took everything she had not to run over to help him.

Eugene's expression instantly shifted to worry. "Are you alright?"

Hank got up quickly and stretched his shoulders. "Fine." He held his sword up again.

"What was that all about?" Rapunzel asked Elsa without tearing her eyes away from the action.

"Hank has a bad back," Elsa explained. It sounded like regret in her voice, but Rapunzel wasn't sure. The Queen winced at every swipe that came close to her guard.

"You care about him," Rapunzel stated with a knowing gleam.

"He's my best friend," Elsa answered firmly. She cringed as Hank took a kick to his lower back. He swung around violently and narrowly missed Eugene's forehead. "It's a pretty even fight."

Rapunzel shook her head. "No it isn't."

Elsa crinkled her brow and paid closer attention. Every sidestep, swing, and slice of Eugene's were perfectly executed. He deftly blocked or dodged every one of Hank's blows and when he made an attack of his own it almost looked…telegraphed. Like a training session. Elsa's eyes widened at the realization Hank was being toyed with.

Eugene slashed to Hank's left and the guard took the heavy blow on his forearm. He could feel the bruises forming from all of the punishment he was taking. It seemed every movement of Eugene's was getting more dangerous, more skillful, more powerful. It was only when he narrowed dodged the loss of his earlobe that he realized what he had really got himself into. Eugene was a much better swordsman than he ever was. Hank had no chance. He brought up his sword to receive Eugene's next strike, but the sword swung under where Hank anticipated it and the flat of the blade smacked Hank's wrists in an imitation of his own first attack. His sword flew from his hands across the floor. The soldier followed its movement with his eyes and regretted seeing the look of intense fear on Elsa's beautiful face as the sword stopped at her feet. Hank turned back to his opponent and was enraged by the satisfied grin plastered on Eugene.

The grin was gone immediately as Hank charged at full speed towards his nearby foe. Eugene swung hard towards Hank's shoulder, but the guard once again brought his arm up and absorbed the strike with his armour. The sword got stuck momentarily, giving Hank all the time he needed to lunge forward and throw a heavy haymaker into Eugene's cheek. Corona's representative fell hard, with Hank on top of him. The Arendelle guard grabbed the other man by the breastplate with his left hand and straddled him. Hank repeatedly brought down his right fist into Eugene's face. Hard.

"Hank!" Elsa yelled. He kept going. Rapunzel started running towards the battle.

The solider brought both of his hands up and balled them into one fist, then slammed it into Eugene's jaw. He calmly got off of his sparring partner and shook his aching right hand out. Rapunzel dived to Eugene's side and cupped his head in her arms. Besides a few darkening bruises…everywhere, he looked okay to Elsa. Eugene pushed himself out of Rapunzel's arms and spit a large amount of blood onto the floor. Blood trickled out of the corner of his lips.

"First blood," Hank gravelled. Elsa had no idea what to do, but she was sure this would mean war. She would have to mobilize as many able bodied citizens as possible. Corona was twice as large as her modest kingdom, and she didn't know if she had enough men of age to take up arms and defend her home. She would probably have to lead the forces herself, and-

Laughter. Painful, throaty, laughter coming from the bloodied man on the floor.

"I hope you make good use of that fencing equipment, Captain Eriksson," Eugene said, "You are awful with a sword."

Hank smiled and offered his hand for his defeated opponent. Eugene took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. They shook hands. Both seemed unreasonably happy. Elsa was very confused.

"I'm sorry for beating up your husband, Princess Rapunzel."

"Sorry!? Look at him!" Rapunzel yelled.

"Calm down, Blondie," Eugene urged. "I've gotten worse in jails." Hank and Elsa gave each other a perplexed look.

Rapunzel seemed unsatisfied, but nodded acceptingly. She bowed to Hank. "You win. Fair and square. Now, I'm going to go attempt to patch up my husband's bruises. Goodbye Elsa, Captain Eriksson."

She led the man off and out of the room, leaving Hank and Elsa alone. The second they were gone Hank fell to the floor and started tearing away at his armour.

"Hold still, I'll help," Elsa offered. She stopped dead in her tracks though as Hank's left forearm guard slid to the floor and his bloody appendage was exposed. The entire section of skin from his elbow to his wrist was covered in a black welt and he was bleeding profusely from a cut right in the middle.

"When I blocked that last attack," Hank explained proudly. Elsa slapped him across the face.

"What am I supposed to do with you? Do you understand how much it hurt to watch you in pain like that? That was horrible! Every second of it! And, not only did you hurt yourself for no reason, you cheated!"

Hank pawed at the sting from the slap and shook his head. "It started to bleed while Princess Rapunzel was giving me that death glare."

Elsa looked around the room hurriedly and when sure nobody was there, leaned down and took Hank into a passionate kiss. They took their time before breaking apart.

"You can be so damn stubborn sometimes," Elsa complained. Hank smiled and, feeling extra charged from his fight, tested fate and reached around to give Elsa a smack on the behind.

"You know, Hank," she said with a smile, "If you had used your other hand I really would have loved that."

Hank, perplexed, gave his hand an inspection. Nothing wrong with it except for all the blood. The fresh, wet blood.

"Oh."

Elsa spun around to give him a nice view of the backside of her pretty green dress, stained by what looked like a dark copperish half of a hand print right on her right cheek. He swirled his jaw around before deciding on the appropriate course of action. Using his bloody left hand, he gave the other side a smack too. The Queen yelped in surprise.

"Oh, you're getting it now!" Elsa warned before jumping on top of him and forcefully tearing at the remaining pieces of armour left on his body.

"Better get it all out before the camping trip," Hank said. The breastplate fell off and he began working at his shirt. He ripped off a large piece of the garment and used it as a makeshift bandage for his cut.

"I arranged for us to stay in the same tent, since I don't think I can live another night without you in my arms," Elsa explained. She was struggling with the straps holding the bracers to his thighs. He helped her undo them.

"Is that the best idea?"

"Everyone who pays attention in Arendelle and in a few other kingdoms too knows that I am in love with you, Captain Henrik Eriksson. Who cares if Rapunzel and Eugene know?"

"What if they have a suitor they want you to marry?" Hank argued as his belt was being unbuckled.

"I wouldn't do it," Elsa answered matter-of-factly.

"You'll have to marry someone eventually, Elsa."

"Yes, you."

"I don't think we can do that."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "I know, but please can we not talk about this while I'm trying to make love to you?"

"I think we should talk about this," Hank pressed, catching her hand with his before it made its way into his pants. Elsa sighed.

"I love you, Elsa. It's just-"

"We can't be together like we both want to be because I'm the Queen and Arendelle is more important than you or I. I know. I told you that." She stopped her efforts and sat beside her lover, hugging her knees up to her chest.

"It's just…I was thinking about that recently and I made a decision," Elsa revealed.

"Really?" There was questioning and a tiny bit of fear in the man's voice.

"Yes, really," Elsa assured. "I don't want to be Queen anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"No, seriously! I think I hate being the Queen. I hate all of these royal appointments, and having to sign so much stuff, and having to settle the differences of every citizen who can't make up their mind, and having to humour a bunch of people from places I've never been so that they don't sail over here and kill us all. I want to be a normal woman who lives a normal life. I want to marry you and be happy."

Hank chewed his lower lip. "I want that too, I can't lie."

"Then let's do it," Elsa urged seductively, leaning in towards his lips. "Let's go away and have a big family who I can dazzle with my ice magic." She got dangerously close to the man and blew her cold breath onto his bottom lip.

"That sounds k-kind of nice..." Hank closed his eyes and tried leaning away from the scent of Elsa's pheromones.

Elsa licked her lips and purred in his ear."As your Queen, I order you to marry me and make me pregnant so that we can start our lives the way we want them."

"No!" Hank snapped, finally finding his resolve. Elsa recoiled. "Life isn't easy, Elsa. Real people would be in real danger if you were to just run away from all of your responsibilities. You don't want to anyways. You thrive on being the Queen, being able to help people and taking responsibility for them. You could never stop being the Queen of Arendelle and I know you don't want to."

Elsa closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She took a deep breath before she dared speak again. "I know, it's just…I spent my entire youth hiding because I was afraid of hurting people. I do everything for everyone else. Can I please just live for myself for a while?"

"No, you can't," Hank condemned, "Not just because you're the Queen either. Every person is on this planet for the purpose of others. Living for oneself is wrong. I try to spend my days benefitting others and you do too. That is a fulfilling existence."

Elsa sighed. Exactly the response to expect from a good man raised in a very Christian community. He was right.

"Okay," she conceded. "But I want to talk about this again sometime, and if the answer is the same I want to talk about it again sometime after that. Also, I will not marry anyone on God's Earth besides you. Either you or nobody. I don't care about those political ties. Besides, it would break your heart for me to do that, even if you try to act like it would be a good thing."

Hank nodded weakly, his quick burst of defiance dried up into nothing. He couldn't hide his relieved smile. "Fair enough."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Can we please go back to what we were doing before?" Elsa begged.

No more words were said after that.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

"_Who is it_?" Anna sung.

There was no response for a few seconds before a weak voice piped up. "Me."

Anna frowned. He still sounded terrible. She ran over to the door and let her husband in. She expected a hug or a kiss but was instead greeted by a very melancholy ice-harvester. It had been two full days since he had entered their room and he smelled like reindeer but she didn't care one bit. She missed him more than anything.

"Am I just a piece of furniture, Anna?"

She couldn't take this anymore. She collapsed into his arms, tears pouring out by the pound. He held her there in the hallway, letting her cry and rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry, Kristoff," Anna sobbed. "I'm sorry if I'm mistreating you. I don't want to."

Kristoff squeezed her tight. "I know. It's okay." He led her back into their room and shut the door. They took a seat on the bed, Anna still clinging to her husband's chest. Her crying was stopping nearly as quickly as it began.

"Let out all your tears that quick?" he joked.

"I think it's the baby," Anna admitted, "I've been feeling all over the place recently. You can see the bump getting clearer now." She lifted her nightgown and rubbed the very slight protrusion from her tummy. Kristoff tentatively reached a hand down and placed it atop hers. He knew it was crazy, but he could swear he felt life in there.

"T-that's ours?" he mumbled.

Anna giggled. "All ours." She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. He looked content, but worried. An expression not foreign to Kristoff's face, but with the recent events, Anna figured it would be important to ask.

"What's wrong?"

"Well," Kristoff exhaled, "Before we get back into our regular way of things I wanted to talk to you. Seriously." She nodded, expecting him to go on. He took a deep breath. "I think we need to re-evaluate ourselves a little bit."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just…at dinner the other night you treated me like a child. It hurt, Anna, to have my wife speak about me to strangers as if I didn't have the ability to handle myself. I know you don't really think that about me, so why did you have to say it?"

Anna's lips contorted awkwardly. "I didn't know you felt that way."

"I don't speak up about it," Kristoff admitted. He took her hand in his. "Maybe you would notice more often how I felt if you asked me about it sometimes."

She could feel the tears coming. Building in the back of her eyes and burning their way to the open air. "I'm sorry. I only really deal with you and Elsa, and my experience with Elsa is to leave her alone when she's feeling bad."

"I don't think that's the right thing to do either. Look at how Hank handles it; he refuses to leave her side, even at a risk to his own personal health."

"So, you want me to never leave your side?"

"I never said that," Kristoff rushed. "I do need my alone time, but it would be nice if we could communicate more."

Warm tears silently streaked down Anna's cheeks. Kristoff reached a hand up and wiped them off. "I have something that I really need to work on too," Kristoff added.

"What's that?" Anna asked. "I think you're perfect."

Kristoff chuckled awkwardly before linking his hands and twiddling his thumbs. "I've been talking to Sven about this and I think I'm too much of a pushover. I need to learn how to say no to you."

"Whoa, I never suggested you do that," Anna joked.

"I really do," Kristoff continued. "The only reason you're pregnant is my inability to say no."

"Do you regret making me pregnant?" Anna whispered.

"No!" Kristoff corrected. "I'm just wondering if we went too fast. If I would've held firm, who knows what would have happened. Plus, what will the people say when their Princess has a baby less than nine months after she got married?"

Anna grinned. "Thinking about the people of Arendelle, Kristoff? How kingly of you."

"I guess. Anyways, what I'm getting at is we need to try and change the way we act. We can't change ourselves, my family always told me that people don't really change. We can think about our actions and words before we do them though."

"I think I can do that," Anna said. "You're going to be a great father, Kristoff."

The blush was instant. "Really? You think so?"

"I know so." She leaned forward and took him in a kiss. He hugged his wife tightly and returned the kiss with everything he had. He truly loved the woman in his arms and always would until the end of his days. Everything about her was more than he could have ever imagined having in a wife. He was absolutely the luckiest man in Arendelle.

"I was thinking about names earlier," Anna whispered as they broke apart.

"Names?" She gave him an unamused look. "Oh, for the baby?"

"Of course, Silly. Have you thought about it?"

"Not really," Kristoff admitted.

"Well, I have a couple names in mind," Anna revealed. "If it's a boy I was thinking Gustav, after my father. For a girl I was thinking…well nothing really. I'm kind of hoping for a boy. Is that wrong?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Not really."

"What do you hope it is?" Anna wondered.

"Mine," he deadpanned. Anna gave him a playful slap on the wrist.

"Can we go to bed? I haven't been able to sleep well without cuddling with you."

Kristoff nodded happily. "Of course, Anna."


	5. King Henrik the Unwilling

Hank took a deep breath. The morning air was always heavenly in Arendelle. The smell of fresh baked bread, the sound of children playing, the complete absence of crime. It was like being in a dream. When Elsa appointed him Captain, one of Hank's first actions was to schedule himself more patrol shifts in the morning. He walked by a few playing schoolchildren and stopped to enjoy their game of marbles.

"Which one of you is winning?" Hank asked, leaning down to get on their level.

"I am, King Henrik!" a small girl piped up. All the boys around her pouted.

Hank swirled his jaw around. "You know my name is Captain Eriksson. Where did you pick that up?"

The girl blushed under Hank's scrutinizing gaze. She couldn't look him in the eyes as she answered. "My mother works in the castle," she explained. "When you walk by in the mornings she says, 'look Gloria, it's King Henrik taking time away from his precious Elsa to visit with us commonfolk' and tells me to bow, but only when you aren't looking."

Hank smiled. "So your mother is around?"

"Right there!" Gloria cheered, pointing behind Hank and waving. Hank followed the finger to see a woman he recognized from the kitchens. She was unhealthily pale and her brow was sweaty. Her knees were visibly shaking as she watched Hank speak with her daughter. Hank smiled cockily at her and waved. She tried to wave back but couldn't manage to move her arm higher than her waist.

"Tell your mother she is welcome to speak to me about any issues she may have at any time," Hank said to Gloria. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single silver coin. Gloria's eyes lit up as he placed it in her palm. "Go buy you and your friends some new marbles and maybe even some candy. My treat, for the discomfort I caused your Mom."

"Thank you, Captain Eriksson!" the group of children spoke in chorus before running off excitedly to the closest general store, fighting over the silver coin on their way there. Hank turned back to Gloria's mother, who hadn't moved since he last saw her. Her hand was even still halfway up in the air. He winked at her and she fainted.

Continuing on his path, Hank soon came across a gathering of people in the center of the street. Pushing his way through the crowd he found a horse drawn carriage toppled over. The driver was trying in vain to lift the cart up and the people around were just watching with fascination. Hank shook his head and went to the driver.

"Can I help you out, sir?" Hank asked.

"I hope so," the man answered. "I think the necklace I just bought for my wife got stuck underneath the cart when my horse decided it wanted to fall down and take everything with it. I can't lift it by myself and I would love some-" The man finally looked at who he was talking to and his jaw dropped. Almost just as quickly he dropped to his knees and started bowing. The gathered crowd laughed at the man.

"King Eriksson, I am so sorry. I didn't know it was you!"

Hank grabbed the man roughly by the shoulder and lifted him onto his feet. "Captain Eriksson," he corrected. "Now, let's get this cart up."

Hank unbuttoned his green uniform jacket and slid it off his shoulders. Cat whistles and cheers arose from the gathered crowd and he took it off and folded it neatly onto the ground behind him.

"Way to be, King Henrik!"

"Making the rest of us look bad!"

"Oh my God, look at that stomach!"

Hank glared at the sheepish smiles of the onlookers and bent down to grab the bottom of the overturned cart. The tired man next to him grabbed another section and huffed. It was clear he wouldn't be much help. With a strained grown, Hank lifted with everything he had, pushing his arms to the limit of their strength. If possible he would avoid using his back for these kinds of things, but inevitably he felt the beginnings of sharp pain anyways. He clenched his teeth and worked through the burn, the noise of the crowd stopped. With one final push of effort, Hank threw the cart upright and let out his panting breath. The man next to him fell to the ground but his sweaty face was elated. Hank would have smiled if it weren't for the pins and needles in his spine. He rolled his torso to either side, eliciting cracks and wiped his brow. He put his hands on his hips and surveyed his work. The cart was completely upright but beneath it the diamond necklace was crushed. Metal inlets were twisted and snapped, leaving the diamonds loose on the ground beside it. Hank frowned and tried to pick up the pieces.

The crowd erupted into cheers again.

"Truly the people's King!"

"Arendelle is so lucky to have the sexiest King alive!"

"Goes great with the sexiest Queen!"

"If we were a democracy, I would vote for him!"

"Disperse!" Hank roared at the people. The conglomerate of citizens dissipated nearly instantaneously, hurrying along to continue their lives now that the show was done. Hank carefully carried the pieces of the necklace to the tired man, who was just sitting up from his rest.

"I'm sorry, Sir. Looks like it'll have to be repaired."

"Nonsense," the man shrugged. "Things like this can't be helped. My wife will just have to get her gift another day."

"Either way, I would like to pay for the repair," Hank offered. He pulled another silver coin out of his pocket. "Would this be enough to cover it?"

The man's eyes lit up like Gloria's had earlier. "Of course it would! I can't accept this though, it was more than enough to help me lift the cart."

Hank put the remains of the necklace in the man's hand then forced the coin in it as well. "It's not like I'm want for money. Use the extra to take your wife out."

"Oh thank you so much, King Eriksson!" The man slid the necklace and the coin safely in his pocket and shook Hank's hand furiously.

Hank shook back but frowned. "I'm not the King."

"Yet," the man replied with a wink.

Hank rolled his eyes. His smile to go along with the gesture was the only thing onlookers noticed.

* * *

"Are you absolutely sure we have to do this?"

"Yes, Eugene." Rapunzel held firm.

"But my face hurts."

"No it doesn't, besides, it's your fault. He wanted it to be swords only."

"I shouldn't have played around with him for so long," Eugene conceded. He rubbed his soul patch and winced. His chin and cheeks were covered in light bruises. They hadn't seen Elsa and her lap dog since the sparring match yesterday and Eugene was worried about how Rapunzel was going to handle it. She could be very protective. It didn't help that they were going straight into this godforsaken camping trip after the severe beating Captain Eriksson had put on him. The pain probably wasn't worth the possibility of confirmation of information he already knew.

"I can't believe you let him hurt you like that."

"I didn't let him," Eugene corrected. "Did you see the guy's arms? He may not be the Stabbington Brothers or anything but that soldier is a bear."

"He's a mean brute," Rapunzel pouted. "He refused to stop, even when Elsa yelled at him. The look in his eyes…I thought you were finished."

"Oh please, I've lived through a stabbing." Rapunzel gave him a very dirty look. "Okay, maybe not the best example. Anyways, if he's really like you say he must be an extremely efficient bodyguard."

"He's scary."

"I like him."

"You would."

"Hey, Rapunzel!" Anna yelled. She was giving a very enthusiastic wave from the top of a sleigh. There were stacks of bags and trunks loaded on and a large reindeer at the front who looked like he was about to break into a cold sweat. Kristoff was securing the load and keeping a close eye on his wife atop the pile. Nearby stood Elsa and Hank dressed very ceremonially. Elsa had her most famous dress on and Hank was wearing what looked like a formal uniform. It was accentuated with a blue cloak that matched the Queen's dress. Elsa turned to the arriving guests and looked like she saw a ghost.

"Oh God, Eugene!" she burst out. Eugene smirked. "I'm so sorry. Hank, apologize."

The guard narrowed his eyes. He stayed quiet, instead choosing to take off his gloves and raise his sleeves. Both of his forearms were covered in fresh bandages. "Plus, I needed help getting up in the morning," Hank added, rubbing his lower back.

Eugene raised an eyebrow. "Did the Queen grace you with that help? Wouldn't be too bad to have her hands all over your body."

"Eugene!" Rapunzel yelled. She smacked his arm. It was very slight, but Eugene was positive he saw the tiniest of smiles on the guard's face.

"Everybody really to leave?" Kristoff piped up, changing the topic before Anna could sneak in a comment.

"No," Eugene replied, "But I don't think I ever will be."

"I'm ready!" Rapunzel said. "I'm excited too. I heard there's a huge ice castle on the North mountain."

Elsa shrugged. "I can make one for you if we don't go that far."

"Ooooooh that would be great!" Rapunzel squeaked. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, let's go!" a shrill voice cheered from below Eugene's knees. He jumped at the sight of that living snowman.

"You're going too?" he asked.

"Yeah," Olaf replied, "Why not?" He looked positively depressed at the possibility of being left behind. It tore at Eugene's heart like nothing since the time Rapunzel fell off a first floor window back in Corona.

"There is no reason not to," Rapunzel said. She knelt down to his height and took him in a hug. "You are the cutest thing I've ever seen. Well, maybe not as cute as my friend Pascal back home but very cute."

"Thanks!" Olaf cheered, returning the hug happily.

"I'm sorry Olaf, but you can't go," Elsa said.

Olaf looked like he had been kicked in the gut. "W-why, Elsa?"

"You have to be the King," Elsa explained while trying to mend the shattered pieces of her heart. He looked so pitiful.

"The King? Me?" His eyes were wide with amazement, and what looked to Eugene like scheming. He couldn't decide if it was cute or scary.

"Yes, you need to take care of Arendelle while we're gone for a few days. Can I rely on you to do that?" Elsa asked.

"Of course, Elsa! When you need help, I'm your snowman! Now go have fun, King Olaf will take care of everything." The group watched him waddle halfway back to the castle before turning around and giving them a hand sign signifying "go."

"I'm not sure if that was the best idea," Anna said. Elsa shrugged in a perfect impersonation of Hank.

"Load up everyone," Kristoff ordered. He took his place at the front of the sled filled with supplies and Anna popped down to sit next to him. Elsa gestured to another nearby sled with two horses in front of it. This sled had much more comfortable looking seats. Rapunzel and Eugene took the seat in the back, Hank and Elsa took the seat up front with Hank taking the reins.

"After you, Baron Bjorgman," Hank insisted. Kristoff nodded and wiggled his own reins, urging the reindeer to lunge forward into a casual gallop. Hank whipped his reins and followed off into the wilderness.

* * *

"Is it always so cold here?"

"We have a Queen who can conjure winter, do you really have to ask that question?" Hank answered. Eugene was eyeing the guard's big blue cloak very closely. It looked so warm. Hank was gripping the ends of it very tightly and covering as much of his body as possible. Eugene had a very nice bearskin coat Elsa presented him, but Hank's cloak looked so much more comfortable.

"You're kind of a smartass," Eugene quipped.

"A smartass with a strong right hook."

"You are definitely a smartass." Eugene moved his log seat closer to the fire and shivered. "I bet the cold doesn't bother you anyways."

Hank gave the man a very curious glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean," Eugene said. "Man to man, Hank, be honest. It's not hard to see the way you two look at each other. The subtle touches passed between you when you think nobody is looking. I admit, you two are good at hiding it, but I know love myself and I know when I see it."

Hank swirled his jaw around and loosened his cloak just a bit. He turned his attention to the tent where his sleeping kit was set up. Where Elsa was getting ready for bed. "You think so?"

Eugene gave him the most obnoxious smirk he could muster. The way Hank's eyes narrowed told him that it was sublimely effective, even with the bruises. That's one to slip into the bank of faces to flash Rapunzel.

"I'll tell you a secret, Eugene," Hank offered. "If you explain to me how you wound up in prison more than once."

Eugene smiled exuberantly, much to Hank's confusion. Was prison not something to be ashamed of? "To tell you that, Captain Eriksson, would be to tell you the biggest secret of all!"

"Sounds like the kind of 'secret' you love to tell."

Eugene slid his log closer to the soldier and slid his arm around the man's back. "You can call me Flynn Rider from now on."

Hank coughed. "You're Flynn Rider?" A nod. "_The_ Flynn Rider?" A way more excited nod. "I thought he was dead."

"The tales of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Mostly by me."

"My Dad told me about Flynn Rider years ago. The bane of law enforcement across the land. He always wanted to have a beer with you. He thought your exploits were admirable since you only seemed to rob from the biggest kingdoms."

"I'm sure I would have enjoyed your father's company. I was able to garner quite the reputation in the short amount of time I was a thief."

"Short? My Dad followed you since your first big heist on the Summer Isles until your supposed death in Corona. I was twelve when that first big story broke."

"That was a good one. My first big job! I should write a book about it," Eugene reminisced.

"Just how old are you?" Hank asked. Eugene frowned.

"Don't worry about that. Now, your secret."

"How the hell am I supposed to tell you anything when I just learned I'm talking to a damned fairy tale character? My God, Anna would faint if she found out who you are. She's probably the only person who knows more about you in Arendelle than my Dad did. She was all over the newspapers when she was locked up in the castle."

"She doesn't need to know. Rapunzel doesn't want me to tell anyone. I'm only telling you since you earned it. I haven't been beaten like that since marrying her."

"Beating up an old man isn't an accomplishment," Hank argued.

"Killing a guard and blaming it on wolves isn't much of one either," Eugene threatened.

Hank laughed. "Okay, no more jabs at your elder status."

"Secret. Now."

"Okay, okay," Hank chuckled. He sat up straighter and cleared his throat. "I'm in love with Queen Elsa."

"That's not a secret!" Eugene yelled. Hank gave him a glare then signaled to the nearby tents. Eugene whispered this time. "That's not a secret!"

"I've only told less than a handful of people that," Hank revealed. "How is it not a secret?"

"Everybody in Arendelle knows that! It's something you can guess from one second of seeing you two together. I've seen townspeople greet you as King Eriksson!" He did. On the way back to the castle after they first met the villagers happily greeted the couple as King and Queen. Elsa laughed it off but Hank's blush was hilarious.

"That's a joke that started going around when Elsa became a bit too inebriated at a party and kissed me," Hank lied. Well, about the being drunk part.

"How does she taste?" Eugene drawled, ignoring the excuse. "Rapunzel is sweet like candy."

"I don't want to hear that. Jesus, Rapunzel's younger than me, isn't she?"

"You're older than Elsa," Eugene argued.

"By only three years," Hank returned. "Anyways, there wasn't much of a taste on her. Kissing doesn't usually taste like anything, unless you've just ate."

"I wasn't talking about kissing."

Hank stood up abrubtly. "I'm going to bed."

Eugene smiled slyly. He won. "Who's going to guard us then?"

"Kristoff is still awake," Hank offered with a pointed finger. Eugene followed it and saw Kristoff sitting in his sleigh, observing the conversation. "Besides, I feel very safe with the dangerous Flynn Rider keeping his eye on us." Hank made his way over to his shared tent and disappeared behind the opening.

Eugene turned his attention to Kristoff. "Heard the whole thing?"

"Yeah," Kristoff admitted.

"You're quiet. You would make a good thief," Eugene offered.

Kristoff's face twisted and he frowned. "Not really. I'm too big. Not fast enough. Besides, I don't have as much experience eating little girl's candy as you."

Eugene got up without a word and retreated to his tent.


	6. Love's Got A Lot to Answer For

_A/N_

_Not sure how I feel about this chapter. Let me know if it was any good._

_Now, step on my wild ride…_

* * *

Rapunzel gripped her coffee mug tightly with both hands. It was so warm, unlike the air around them. Elsa tried to dull the bite of the cold but her powers didn't have any effect on nature's will. The best she could do was brew up a counter-wind to try and deflect the air. It was better, but it didn't do much to help warm a skinny girl in an environment she had never actually been in. She was starting to feel like Eugene may have been right after all.

Speaking of Eugene, her husband had been oddly quiet all morning. Kristoff and Captain Eriksson had been bright too.

"Eugene," she whispered to her husband. She was cuddling close to him, not entirely because it made her warmer. "Are the guys bullying you about getting beaten up?"

Eugene smiled. "No, Blondie. Don't worry about it."

But Rapunzel couldn't help but worry. Ever since seeing Hank brutalize the love of her life she couldn't be anything but weary around the man. Even Elsa could give her shivers at times, from just how close she could get to the soldier. Any man who could do something like that wasn't someone she wanted to spend much time with.

"Are you feeling okay?" her husband, Flynn Rider, asked her. She nodded and snuggled closer to him.

"So, Rapunzel!" Anna yelled, catching everyone off guard. "Are you and Eugene thinking about having kids yet?"

Rapunzel nodded. "We've talked about it. We definitely plan on having children, but we want to spend some time together first. We've been married nearly six years now and we're enjoying ourselves. We'll have kids when we're ready."

Kristoff looked like he was about to cry. Rapunzel turned to her husband and saw that he caught that as well. Captain Eriksson ran his hand through his hair and raised his eyebrows quickly before hugging his cloak tighter around himself and hunching over.

"That's wonderful, Rapunzel," Elsa offered. "It's always nice to meet a couple so very in love with each other. It can be a rarity, sadly."

"Yeah," Anna agreed. "Are you sure about the kids thing though? Wouldn't it have been nice to have them right away?"

"I was seventeen. I love children, but I don't think I was ready for them yet," Rapunzel explained. "I might be now."

"Ah," Anna sputtered, "I'm ready for kids."

"Anna!" Elsa scolded. "That's nice, but don't talk about your plans with Kristoff here. We're on vacation." Her face dropped a bit. "Are you making children in your tent?"

"No! Well, not rea…no!" Anna defended. Kristoff looked like he was about to die. Hank sunk even further into his cloak. "I can't get pregnant anyways."

"What!? Why?" Elsa demanded, taking her sister by the hand.

Anna was red as a tomato. She mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Anna, this is serious. Tell me," Elsa begged. She sounded truly upset.

"I'm already pregnant," Anna whispered.

Elsa let go of her sister's hand. "Oh." She slowly spun to face the fire, a blank look on her face. Kristoff stood up and walked around, placing some distance between himself and the party. Hank had given up on trying to hide in his cloak and was instead fidgeting with the hem of his uniform. Rapunzel and Eugene were awkwardly silent, unsure what to do.

"Congratulations!" Rapunzel forced out. Eugene smiled and nodded along, wishing deep inside that his wife hadn't given Anna their entire philosophy on children while they were out on a cold, isolated mountain. Why couldn't this have happened in the warm, cozy castle, where their ship was waiting for them in the docks? Why were they here in the first place? The entire trip consisted of Eugene trying to discover the secrets of the sisters, nearly ruining a loving relationship, getting beaten up by Elsa's consort, and freezing in the wilderness. Hopefully Rapunzel had seen her fill of her cousins when they finally left Arendelle.

"Thank you," Anna mumbled. The poor girl looked like she was having a panic attack. Elsa was still unmoving. Hank reached over to the Queen and gave her shoulder a firm squeeze.

"Congratulations, Princess Anna, Baron Kristoff," Hank said with a ceremonial bow. "Elsa, won't it be nice to have a niece or a nephew?"

The Queen nodded very slowly. "Yes."

A tear slid down Anna's cheek. "I was, uh, that is, me and Kristoff were, umm, hoping you and Hank would be the godparents."

Eugene narrowed his eyes satisfactorily. Now that was a secret.

Elsa sobbed and shook in her spot. She hugged herself tightly. Hank rushed to her side, placing one hand on her thigh and the other on her back. Elsa gave him a thoughtful smile through her tears and turned to look Anna in the eyes. "I would love that Anna. I would love that so much."

"Elsa?" Anna asked. The younger girl was trying hard not to cry herself. "Are you okay?"

"I'm so much better than okay, Anna. So, so, _so_ much better!" Elsa rushed out of Hank's loose embrace and swept her sister up in a hug. "We're going to have a family! A real family!"

The sisters wept in each other's arms. Kristoff came back over from the sleigh, looking happier than Eugene had ever seen him. A few tears escaped Hank's eyes, but not Rapunzel's sight. Rapunzel herself was overwhelmed by the emotions and cried. Eugene held her close, smiling brightly.

"I was so worried you would hate me!" Anna cried. "I was so afraid to tell you."

"Never be afraid to tell me anything," Elsa commanded. "I could never hate you. Not after all we've been through. I love you, Anna."

"I love you too, Elsa. You're the best sister in the world."

They didn't bother taking down camp after that. They all just sat around the fire and talked, occasionally throwing more wood on it. Talked about the upcoming baby, their lives, their loves, everything. Even Kristoff talked. The man had renewed vigour from the weight lifted off his big shoulders. Elsa held Hank's hand all day, not even trying to hide her feelings. Hank finally gave Eugene his promised secret. For the first time since arriving in Arendelle, Rapunzel and Eugene felt like they were friends, not guests.

* * *

"Hank?" Elsa whispered.

"Yes?" Hank answered.

"Can we have a child?"

He didn't answer. Elsa waited. He still wasn't answering.

"Please answer me, Henrik."

"I would love to have a child with you, Elsa. I don't think we should though. We've talked about this only a few days ago."

"That was before I found out I was going to be an aunt. My outlook has changed. I have absolutely no care now what they're going to say. I want to love you all the time, not just when we're alone. I want to be your wife. I want us to have a son and I want to name him William."

"Elsa, please," Hank begged. He sounded choked. "I don't want to talk about this."

"I don't care, you're my Royal Guard. Do as I say. Explain. Explain everything."

Hank sighed and leaned in to kiss the Queen. It was a quick kiss, but an intensely loving one.

"If we get married," Hank started, "Our relationship will become very…political. It will be more about how we are as King and Queen than how we are as a couple. I love what we have. We're best friends and lovers. That isn't so bad."

Elsa narrowed her eyes at the tired and flimsy excuse. She decided it was the last time she was ever going to hear it. "My parents never had problems like that."

"Neither of your parents was a commoner marrying the Queen of a young and resource filled Kingdom that other countries fight over the rights to trade with."

"Will you stop it with that!" Elsa yelled. "I'm tired of hearing so much about how we can't love each other. How we shouldn't. If God didn't want me to love you, he would've killed me when I left Arendelle on my own!"

"Don't say that!" Hank snapped in a ferocious growl. Elsa shrunk. He was terrifying when he wanted to be. "Don't bring God into this. Nobody knows how He works. Nobody could ever understand. This is between you and me. We have to decide for ourselves what we want." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Elsa. I love you even more every day somehow. I just don't think I'm ready to go any further with our relationship yet. Maybe one day we'll get married and have children, just not right now. Please."

"Okay," Elsa agreed. "We'll take our time." She pulled his body closer to her own. "I love you too, Hank."

He tapped his fingers along Elsa's hip and swirled his jaw around. A telltale sign he was contemplating something. He looked away from his Queen's eyes and tilted his head a tiny bit. "Maybe…maybe I could buy you an engagement ring." It was impossible to hide the excitement in his voice.

Elsa's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes," Hank confirmed. "A subtle ring wouldn't hurt…and it would be nice to see you wearing it."

She jumped on top of him and kissed him deeply. He returned with everything he had. When she came up for air she leaned down, her whispers tickling his ear. "I would really like that, Captain Eriksson."

* * *

The snow reflected the light of the stars. This was all Eugene could really think as he tried to come into a sort of understanding with the nature around him. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get it. Nature was beautiful and adventurous and big, but he vastly preferred civilization, especially beds. Beds were so nice compared to the cold dirt. There were no beds on North Mountain so he stared into the ashes of the long gone fire and considered how the white snow was blue in the light of the moon until a tent flap opened and Captain Henrik Eriksson emerged.

"You don't like the ground either?" Eugene asked.

"It's not that," Hank replied. "The cots in the barracks are stiffer than the dirt out here. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Wanna talk?" Eugene patted the log stool next to him invitingly. Hank sauntered over and took the seat. He took a deep breath.

"I think I want to marry Elsa," Hank stated.

"Then do it," Eugene answered simply, realizing that "think" was not really a part of Captain Eriksson's thoughts.

The guard chuckled. "I don't think it's that easy."

"Of course it is," Eugene assured. "Do you think it's the right thing to do?"

Hank swirled his jaw around contemplatively. "Yes. We love each other and want to spend our lives together. You don't need to get married to do that but we want to have children. Every kid deserves a real mother and father. We can't be split up for that. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if Elsa is pregnant already and we just haven't figured it out yet."

"Wow, all this from the guy who wouldn't tell me a secret yesterday?" Eugene teased. Hank smirked. Eugene slid his arm around the man and gave him the manliest hug Arendelle had ever seen. "I don't think women can get pregnant without knowing, Hank. Don't worry about that."

"Still. It feels kind of wrong."

"Why?" Eugene wondered, genuinely curious about how pre-marital sex could feel wrong. "Are you a religious man or something?"

"Somewhat, yes," Hank said. "Enough to feel guilty about it. My mother raised me that way."

"Well, what I always like to say is that a man who's never done it has no jurisdiction judging it. God never had sex, did he? He couldn't even man up enough to have his son in the proper way!"

"That isn't funny."

"Maybe not," Eugene conceded, "But you see what I mean."

"No, I actually don't."

Eugene threw his arms in the air in a joyous celebration of the universe. "Live life to the fullest, Hank! Do as your heart desires!"

Hank smiled. "Sound advice from a thief."

"Sound advice from a husband," Eugene corrected. "It wasn't easy marrying Rapunzel, you know. I'm an old man in the eyes of Corona marrying their seventeen year old, newly returned mind you, Princess. The outcry was amazing! Her parents have always accepted me and were onboard with it from the start but the people flipped out. Not to mention the threats from trade partners at the 'waste of the only Princess.' It was definitely looking like we shouldn't get married. I'm sure you have similar fears."

Hank looked down at his feet. He thought his situation was bad but at least he was known in Arendelle as a lawman. Someone they could trust. Eugene was an outsider who came out of nowhere. "What did you do?"

"I married her anyways," Eugene said proudly. "I don't give a damn what others think. I married the woman I love and we're happier than ever. It all worked out too, the people came around and the trade partners were throwing empty threats. It was the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life. I'm just trying to tell you that it is okay to be selfish sometimes. I bet Jesus was getting second thoughts as he carried that cross."

"Probably not, actually," Hank refuted. "I'm no Jesus though."

"Exactly! No offense."

"None taken, I did mess you up something good," Hank bragged.

"Something bad, more like it. I can't believe you've forced me to go so long without my amazingly handsome face."

Hank shrugged. "Your nose is too big."

Eugene's demeanor dropped. "That was a joke, right?"

His answer came from behind him in the form of a low growl. The sound echoed across the clearing, seeping into every space and burrowing into the bones of the men. They turned around simultaneously and were faced by a large brown bear. It didn't look fierce as much as it looked like a stuffed animal. It was hunched on all fours and was eyeing the campsite curiously. Hank and Eugene froze, afraid to move a muscle.

"Isn't he supposed to be hibernating?" Eugene whispered.

"It isn't winter yet," Hank answered. "Just stay calm and he'll move past. He's kind of cute."

The bear pulled its lips up into a snarl, bearing its sharp teeth. It opened its mouth wide and roared. Hank and Eugene jumped back as far as they could, placing any sort of distance between them and the animal. Sven stood up straight from his place by the sleighs and caught wide eyed sight of the approaching bear. He jumped behind the nearest sleigh and hid. Noisy rustling could be heard inside the tents.

The bear jumped towards the direction of the tents, catching the men off guard. Hank dived forward to try and meet it halfway but only succeeded in barrelling into the bear's furry neck. The animal grunted and swung its massive body around to face Hank. For his part, the guard looked like he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

Eugene took advantage of the bear's pause and dived into his own nearby tent to wake his wife. If Hank kept the bear occupied long enough, he would be able to grab Rapunzel and get out of there. It wasn't fair to Elsa, Anna, or the others, but Eugene was an opportunist and he would be the first to admit that he wasn't afraid to put his own desires over those of others.

Hank caught Euegene's dive out of the corner of his eye and was happy that the man sprung to the rescue instead of running away. He could only feel this satisfaction for a second, as the bear brought up one of its big claws and slapped Hank's lower back.

_CRACK_

The soldier bit his lower lip hard, breaking the skin, and held in his scream. The pain was the second worst he had ever felt, but he didn't want his loud noises to aggravate the animal further. With any luck, the bear would find the food near the sleigh and leave without harming anyone. Hank fell to his knees, defeated, and prayed with everything he had that Elsa would be safe.

The bear obviously wasn't satisfied with Hank's loss, as he brought his claw up again and slashed at his victim's chest. Hank's eyes widened and his jaw fell open. The hot sensation of blood running off of his chest and staining his uniform was surreal. He looked down and watched the thick red liquid gather at the long cuts from his shoulder to his stomach and slowly begin spreading over his whole torso. The only thing he could think to do with his last burst of strength was quickly remove the clasp of his cloak and throw it away. He wouldn't let it get ruined by something as stupid as blood.

"Hank!?" he heard a shrill yell. It was distant, and he couldn't tell if that was because of the ringing in his ears. It was music though, his favourite voice. He turned to the source and realized that it might not be the ringing. Elsa looked so far away. Her hair was free and flowing in every which direction with the light wind. Her light green sleeping gown was dishevelled and loose on her feminine frame. She looked just as beautiful as ever. This was a final sight he did not deserve.

She ran towards him and his descent into unconscious halted. There was still a bear here and Elsa was running, making sudden movements. She arrived at his side quickly; the bear's interest was piqued. Digging into the very depths of his will, Hank forced his body to move and push Elsa away. The claw barely grazed her immaculate cheek. His stomach sank at the sight of blood pooling where the bear had connected to her face. It was terrible, seeing something so absolutely perfect being damaged like that. It was worse that he had let it happen.

He was her protector, her guard, and he had let her get hurt. He had failed. He stole a final glance at the woman he loved and saw more rage than he had ever imagined a human being could have carved into her smooth features. It was terrifying but comforting. Elsa would live. He knew it. Even though he had failed she would go on. It was a good thought to die with. Too bad he was dying a failure.

His head hit the ground with a thud.


	7. Love Lies Bleeding

"Anna, wake up!"

"whagraaammmm," Anna groaned. Why was she being waken up so early? Despite what some of the castle servants and her sister might claim, Anna had a very accurate internal clock. She just loved sleep. It was definitely the middle of the night, no way she was getting up now.

"Anna, seriously. Wake up!" Kristoff yelled. He sounded urgent. He was also shaking her body, that was new. He never tried this hard to get her up. Maybe it would be worth a moment of her sleep time to see what he wanted.

"What is it?" she yawned, sitting up and stretching her back. Then her ears woke up too. She heard intense sobbing. Familiar intense sobbing.

"Elsa!" she called, jumping out of her sleeping roll and diving out of the front of her tent.

Her sister was hunched over holding something nearby her tent. Eugene and Rapunzel were standing over her. Eugene looked like a corpse and Rapunzel was crying silently. Anna crept up to her sister and tapped her shoulder. "Elsa?"

The Queen spun around to face her younger sister. Anna gasped. Elsa was covered in blood from the top of her breast to as far down as Anna could see. Her face was streaked here and there with dried blood and she had a light cut on her left cheek. Through all of the intense copper red you could still see the delicate pink under her eyes. Tears were all over her cheeks and her face was contorted into an eternal sob. It would be almost pathetic if it wasn't terrifying.

In her arms was a familiar face. Her friend Captain Henrik Eriksson was unmoving and covered in blood himself. His uniform, usually so prim and proper, was in tatters and the green was almost unrecognizable under all of the blood. His face was clean, only a couple spots of red, but his expression was oddly one of disappointment. His colour was still there, the only sign Anna could see that he was alive.

"W-what?" Anna sobbed. This was too much.

"There was a bear," Eugene whispered. He sounded distant, like he didn't belong.

It was then that Anna noticed that the nearby pillar of ice and mangled fur used to be a living thing. The insides of the surreal sculpture were bright red and distorted. Patches of brown stuck out of the ice at odd angles. The ice itself rose in a corkscrew fashion, as if it twisted up from the depths of the earth itself. The only signifier that this thing was ever a bear was the tip of a snout protruding from the top of the ice tower. Anna had seen Elsa kill a spider or a fly with her magic before, but this…

Anna stood up, took a few steps away from the gathered crowd, and emptied her stomach. She retched all over what was left of the fire pit from last night. Kristoff rubbed her back gently and took her hand. She heaved until the only thing coming out was the air in her lungs. Then, taking conviction, she wiped her lip and straightened her back.

"We need to go see Kristoff's family," Anna announced sternly.

Elsa's eyes sparkled with realization. "The trolls…"

"Exactly," Anna affirmed.

"What are you talking about?" Eugene wondered. "A good man is dying and you want to take time to go see your husband's family? A family that you refer to as trolls?"

"No, you don't get it," Anna assured. "They actually are trolls."

Eugene stared disbelievingly. When nobody budged he rolled his eyes. "Of course they are."

"Let's get him on the sleigh, Sven can get us to their home in an hour or so from here if he does his best," Kristoff offered. Sven nodded proudly and puffed out his chest. He would do better than his best.

Elsa grunted as she wrapped her arms around Hank and tried her best to lift him. She managed to get his torso off the ground but she was struggling. He was more than twice her weight, it was amazing that she could even do that much.

"Let me get him," Kristoff insisted, stepping forward.

"NO!" Elsa screamed. Her voice was wild and powerful, like she was able to do anything and not afraid to show it. "I'm not letting go of him."

Anna squeezed Kristoff's shoulder appreciatively and walked over to her sister. She grabbed Hank's legs and summoned all of her strength to lift them off the ground. Elsa was giving her a disapproving look.

"You weren't going to move him by yourself," Anna explained sternly. Elsa was vulnerable; she needed to be calmed down. Maybe pointing out the ridiculousness would work, even if it was killing Anna's knees to do so.

Elsa seemed to accept that answer and stepped forward, never loosening her tight hold on Hank's chest and set him in the back of the sleigh. Anna carefully set the heavy man's legs down and let out her breath. She was pretty sure she had never lifted more than forty pounds in her life and she just shared over two hundred with her even daintier sister. If she didn't feel the pain later it would be a gift from God. Elsa resumed her place by Hank's side, holding him protectively. A fresh layer of blood was all over her nightdress and the tips of her hair were now showing signs of the liquid. She would have to cut it to get it out at this point.

"Should we bring some food?" Kristoff asked.

"JUST GO!" Elsa commanded. The cold air was visible around her as she spoke, flash freezing into tiny snowflakes. She didn't have to repeat herself.

Kristoff hitched Sven up as Rapunzel and Eugene silently took their place in the back seats of the sleigh. Anna sat in the front and Kristoff jumped in next to her, taking the reins and immediately urging Sven forward. The reindeer charged with everything his old body had and pulsed forward through the forest.

Anna surveyed the situation. Kristoff was focused and determined. His grip on the riens was tighter than usual and he was leaning forward a bit in his seat. He was worried, but he would do his job better than ever. Exactly what she would expect of the man she loved. Eugene was still pale and staring off into the forest. He was very shaken up. Had he seen it happen? Maybe he didn't like blood. Anna couldn't guess either way. Eugene's wife was acting a bit more predictably. Rapunzel was noticeably worried, and occasionally stole glances towards Elsa in the back of the sleigh, but she was also rather calm and professional. She would make a good queen someday.

"It's okay, Henrik," Elsa said. Everyone turned around to her before thinking better of it and giving her some privacy. Anna lingered a moment on her sister and watched her stroke Hank's hair back. "You'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. We're going to go back to Arendelle and get married, no arguments, then we're going to really start our lives together. Anything you want. I'll give you everything." She collapsed into his chest and sobbed openly. "I love you so much. I can't live without you. I won't. If you don't make it out of this…" and Anna couldn't hear the rest through the tears. It was probably for the best. She exchanged panicked glances with Kristoff and the ice-harvester lightly whipped the reins, urging Sven to try and go even faster.

* * *

The cozy plateau was as warm and illuminated as usual. Sven pulled the heavy sleigh as far in as he could before his legs buckled.

"Sven!" Kristoff yelled before jumping out of his spot and running to his reindeer. Sven was as tired as he ever looked and was panting. Kristoff rubbed the spot between his antlers and he seemed to calm down a little. The reindeer looked back towards the sleigh as if to say there are more important things to worry about.

"Stay still, I'll be right back!" Kristoff called to Anna. She nodded sternly. Kristoff admired his wife more than ever right now. In a terrible situation she had managed to stay strong and take charge. She was growing up. Giving Sven one last pat on his fur, Kristoff ran as quickly as he could to the something of moving rocks or whatever.

Anna watched her husband go and wondered how to handle the five or so minutes it would be until he got back. Eugene and Rapunzel stepped out of the sleigh. Eugene wrapped his wife in a hug and held her tight, never peeling his eyes off of the unconscious man in the back. Anna's sister was oddly quiet.

"Elsa? Are you alright?"

No response. She just stayed hunched over her guard, both perfectly still. Elsa was squeezing him as hard as she could. It was only now that Anna realized she was trying to stop the blood.

"Elsa?"

"No." The Queen's usually luxurious and elegant voice was a cut off squeak. Anna stretched her neck to get a better view of Hank's face. It was the same as the last time she saw it. He was slowly bleeding from huge gashes in his chest for at least an hour but he still had colour in his face and was still, presumably, alive. Elsa must have an amazingly strong grip.

"How are you two?" Anna asked, turning her attention to their guests. She really didn't spend much time with them in the few days they were here and she felt kind of disconnected from them. Two trips to Arendelle and both times were ruined by unique circumstances. She felt very bad for them.

"Horrible," Eugene answered. "He didn't deserve that." Rapunzel took his hand and squeezed.

"Would it be okay if we took a little walk, get some fresh air?" Rapunzel asked both Anna and her husband.

"But I want to stay with Hank," Eugene argued.

"Just a bit, please, I need air."

"It's okay," Anna allowed. "He's not moving anywhere for a bit and this is tough. Take a moment to catch your breath, just don't stray too far."

Eugene nodded reluctantly and followed his wife away from the sleigh, leaving Anna with Elsa. Leaving Anna alone was more like it. Elsa was deathly silent, her breathing had become inaudible. She had been weeping non-stop, Anna had to believe that her body just couldn't bring forth anymore tears.

Anna climbed into the back of the sleigh and sat next to Elsa. She cupped Hank's cheek affectionately and was happy to feel a tiny bit of warmth.

"He'll be fine Elsa. I know it."

Elsa lifted her head off of Hank enough to turn to Anna. She _was_ crying. The entire lower half of her face was covered in streaks of ice and the bags under her eyes were pure white. Anna reached over to try and wipe the tears but her hand slid right off of the skin. Her tears weren't freezing earlier, why…

"Oh."

Elsa's tears before had been of love. Painful love, but love nonetheless. Elsa's tears now were of complete fear.

* * *

Eugene followed his wife into a small clearing in the woods. They had walked a good forty feet away from the sleigh, far away from earshot. Back in the day, Flynn Rider would have known this meant bad news and possibly an attempt on his life. Eugene, however, knew his wife just wanted privacy.

"What's wrong, Rapunzel?"

She took a deep breath in, let it out, then started crying. Eugene wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. He carefully stroked her neck with one hand and leant in to slowly blow some cool air over the tips of her ears. She loved that.

"Oh, Eugene," she cried, gripping the lapels of his shirt and squeezing them until there was no chance of smoothing the wrinkles out. "That was the most pitiful thing I've ever seen."

"Yeah." It was all he could think to say. He had seen people die and maybe (just maybe) might have been the cause of one or two "accidents", but this was different. Hank had thrown himself at the bear in the hopes that Elsa would be able to save herself in the time he took. It was an act of pure self-sacrifice that Eugene had never seen before. Experienced, sure, but seeing it was different than feeling it. When he was stabbed it was a sort of elated feeling, knowing that Rapunzel would be okay because of what he did. Watching Hank bleed out while Elsa wept hysterically over his body made Eugene feel like he had been the one who got mauled. Like he _should _have been the one who got mauled.

"It should have been me," he whispered.

Rapunzel held him closer. "Don't say that."

"No, it should have been me!" he spoke up. "I'm living my second lease on life. That is a good man dying over there while the woman he loves is forced to watch, and I-"

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Rapunzel interrupted quietly.

Eugene was silent. He just looked back to where his friends were and grimaced.

"Eugene, seeing you die was the worst thing I've ever experienced. I know what Elsa is going through. Seeing Hank like that…Elsa shoving her face in his chest…" she shoved her face into Eugene's shoulder to try and hide her sobs. "It was too familiar."

"Rapunzel, this is my fault," Eugene whispered. "He tried to save us all of us, I ran into the tent to try and save you. I honestly didn't care what happened to any of them."

"Is that so wrong?" she asked.

"Yes!" Eugene knew he was crying a bit. He didn't care. "I'm not that man anymore, Rapunzel! I never want to be that guy again. I want to be the kind of man you can look up to, the people can look up to, our children could look up to, hell, even the kind of guy young Hank Eriksson can look up too. I want men like Hank to wish they lived a life like I do. I want people to know that I've changed. If I would have stayed outside for a few seconds longer I could have saved him Rapunzel!" He let go of his wife and took a few steps back. "I could have saved him!" He punched the nearest tree. "I am not the kind of man I want to be, and I never will be!" He punched the tree again. "I'm corrupted!" He punched again, this time his knuckles pulled away bloody. "I will always be the thief that stole you away in the hopes of some kind of payout!" He fell to his knees and put his head in his bloody hand. His shoulders slumped and his muscles relaxed. He was pale again, all of the energy from his outburst dispersing.

"You're right, Eugene," Rapunzel agreed. "You'll never be the man you want to be." He sank even further into the ground and exhaled. "You'll never be that man because you are the man that_ I_ want you to be. The man who saved me from that tower and swept me off the feet. The man who loves me more than anything in the world. The man who I am proud of and have always looked up to. You're my Eugene. You aren't Flynn Rider, and you aren't a perfect role model, but you're mine and I love you the way you are."

Eugene was still and silent for a breath, then, he chuckled.

"Kind of cheesy, Blondie."

"It doesn't top 'you were my new dream' though," she teased.

"You loved that," he replied. He got up off the ground and stepped over to his wife, sweeping her up in his arms. He kissed her like he hadn't kissed her in a long time. He kissed her like he did on that fateful day when he died, and was given another chance to live. A chance to live with the person he was looking for his whole life.

"Maybe Hank has a point about God," Eugene conceded. Rapunzel looked at him blankly, confused. "Coming back from death for a chance to love you had to have been a gift from the divine."

She kissed him this time.


	8. The Greatest Discovery

Kristoff ran as fast as he could back to the clearing where he left his friends. He made it back and saw everyone crowding around the back of the sleigh, around Hank.

_Oh no._

He slowed down only a little as he cleared the last few metres to the gathering. Everyone but Elsa turned to look at the oncoming ice-harvester who stood with them and peered over Rapunzel's head. Elsa was sitting now, scratching the little bit of stubble on Hank's chin. His entire torso was covered in a thin sheet of ice.

"I didn't know what else to do," Elsa said. Her voice was calm in the most unsettling way. "He just kept bleeding."

"He's bled a lot hasn't he?" Kristoff wondered aloud.

"Where's the trolls?" Anna asked.

"They said we had to bring him there," Kristoff explained.

"What!?" Elsa yelled, snapping into pure rage. Everyone flinched. "They couldn't walk the hundred yards to come out here?"

"Elsa…" Kristoff tried to offer something but he was drawing a blank. She was right, honestly.

"Whatever, let's get the sled going," Elsa ordered.

"It won't slide on rocks," Anna explained firmly.

"Of course it won't," Elsa spat. She gave Hank a longing look before she started to shimmy her way to the edge of the sleigh. Kristoff stepped forward and once again made an effort to pick up Hank.

"Don't touch him!" Elsa screamed. Everyone took a step back. From the edge of the sleigh a giant slab of ice materialized from Elsa's fingertips. She kept one hand held out and it floated in mid-air. The frail Queen wrapped her free arm around her guard and pulled on him. With a load groan of effort she was able to slide him onto the slab of ice as gently as possible for the situation. Sweat formed on her brow as she wiggled her fingers and made a pushing motion, sending the ice with Hank on it forward towards the valley of the living rock.

Kristoff looked at Anna with an equally shocked face. Elsa had never done anything like that before. She could manipulate ice, but this was levitation. This was magic beyond anything she had ever done, save create life. Kristoff considered the circumstances of Olaf's creation in relation to the day's events and wondered just how far Elsa's powers could go. She liked to pretend like she had full control, but when emotions got the better of Elsa the level of power she exhibited was unpredictable.

She was halfway to the valley by the time the rest of the group caught up with her. Pained determination on her face, sweat pouring down her brow, she pushed on. It looked to Kristoff like she was physically carrying both Hank and the ice, just in a different way. He wished he could help her. Nobody dared speak as Elsa trudged on, eventually rounding the corner to bring forth the sight of numerous trolls waiting patiently. Grand Pabbie was in the middle of them all, a concerned look on his stone face. Rapunzel gasped, never before seeing anything like this and Eugene laughed quietly. There was no way they could prepare themselves for this sight, no matter what they were told before coming here.

When she was close enough, Elsa slowly lowered her arms, the ice slab lowered with them. She clenched her fists and the ice dissolved into a flurry of crystal snowflakes, depositing Hank gently on the ground. Kristoff watched the snowflakes float into the sky and disappear forever.

"Queen Elsa," Grand Pabbie greeted, bowing deeply. Elsa bowed in return.

"Please," she pleaded. "This is-" Grand Pabbie held out his hand.

"Kristoff told us everything," he explained. "We will do everything in our power to save Captain Eriksson. Now, if you could remove the ice on the wound."

Elsa nodded and flicked her wrist. The ice disappeared into nothing and a few trolls jumped forward to gather around the body. The Queen craned her neck in a vain attempt to see what they were doing. A seemingly endless amount of trolls bounced in and out of the dog pile on top of Hank. Some trolls brought some sort of herbs with them, some brought a weird kind of sap. Some carried mysterious pouches of various shapes and sizes. When a pouch entered the pile a strange pillar of smoke that changed colour like a kaleidoscope arose in the cracks between the tight packing of trolls. It was like watching ants work over a discarded piece of food.

"Ugh, the ice made the coagulation all wet and sloppy. This could get messy," a troll complained. Anna scrunched her nose and turned away from the spectacle.

Rapunzel and Eugene were awestruck. Magical hair with healing ability was one thing, but trolls? Now that was just unheard of. Their magic dazzled the couple and even scared them a little bit.

A young troll popped out of the pile around Hank and bit its lower lip. It tapped on the back of the closest troll to him and spoke.

"So, he's dead?"

Elsa fainted. Nobody seemed to notice with everything else going on.

"No, but he should be," the other troll answered before turning back to the wounded guard.

* * *

She woke up with a kink in her back. Hank always woke up with a kink in his back. A permanent reminder of the real danger in Elsa's magic. She felt his pain as she wiggled around in her place on the ground to try and get it out. A tiny crack was heard and Elsa sighed in relief. She rolled to her left and was greeted by the comforting sight of her best friend sleeping next to her. He looked very peaceful this morning.

Elsa's eyes widened and she shot awake. Hank was completely still but he looked unchanged from the last time she saw him. She leaned in and put her ear to his mouth; he was breathing. She felt for the cut on his chest and was pricked by pine needles. His entire chest was covered in them and dusted with what seemed like tree sap. Her face contorted at the sticky sensation of the gooey orange fluid and she tried to wipe it on the rock floor beneath her.

"He will live, Queen Elsa," an old voice assured from nearby. Elsa removed her eyes from her guard long enough to confirm that Grand Pabbie was standing at Hank's feet, a warm smile on his face.

"Thank you," Elsa choked out, her voice hoarse and painful. She hadn't cried this much in a long time and forgot the strain it had on her throat. She pawed around absentmindedly for Hank's hand, taking it in her own and squeezing for comfort.

"You're very lucky Kristoff married Anna when he did," Grand Pabbie said, lightly tapping on Hank's boot in a strange sort of admiration. More admiration of his own work than admiration of the man, or the boot.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," Elsa replied. Any other time and she would have kept her manners, but her patience was short.

"If they hadn't gotten married at the beginning of summer we wouldn't have had a perfect batch of our moss ale."

Elsa pursed her lips. She always hated when people couldn't just get to the point. She hated it even more when people worried about the mundane in the face of serious business.

"I didn't think it was any good," Elsa offered as a way to rebel. She only cared about Hank right now, not some damn beer.

Grand Pabbie chuckled. "Yes, humans don't really have the stomach for it. Except Kristoff, but he always seemed to be more troll than human anyways. Either way, you drank it and I'm sure Captain Eriksson did too."

Elsa nodded. "He wanted to try it. He said it might be his only chance." She regretted the finality of her words.

"Wise man. The kind who grasps opportunity when opportunity arises. The perfect kind of man for you, Queen Elsa."

She couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm sorry, and I really respect what you are and everything you do, but can you please tell me what's going on with the man I love?" It was more of a demand than a question. Her father would have been proud.

Grand Pabbie laughed yet again. "You children always amuse me. No time for small talk. No time to lead up into the issue. Only the facts, cold and straight." Elsa blushed. He was right, and she had overstepped her bounds. There was nobody in the world who could blame her though. "I am telling you what happened to Captain Eriksson, Queen Elsa. You just haven't seen it yet."

She was confused and far too distressed to try and think this through. Grand Pabbie winked an all-knowing eye and walked over to Hank's chest. He ran his hand over the surface of the pine needles without touching them. "These needles are much more effective than your cloth bandages. Tree sap is one of nature's life bloods and, when mixed in a compound only a troll could devise, its coagulative properties heal flesh faster than anything you have ever seen. His wounds will be nothing but a faded scar by the end of the week."

Elsa blinked. She didn't really believe that, but she had seen the trolls work their magic before and had no reason not to.

"As for the issue of blood, he lost a lot. Kristoff tells me he bled more than any man he had ever seen and that is what tipped me off to the moss ale. I was told that Captian Eriksson completely ingested a mouthful of it less than half a year ago. The moss ale, Queen Elsa, is one of our tools of immortality."

She must have looked like she was about to faint because Grand Pabbie wasted no time in continuing. "I'm not saying that Captain Eriksson or yourself have become immortal from drinking it. One sip would not even bring you close to that. Our moss ale does have regenerative properties though, that Kristoff has time and again proved work very well on humans. Do you remember the feeling when you drank it? The shock on your tastebuds?" She nodded. "The moss ale does not digest, it seeps into your body through your taste buds and plants itself there. It dissolves after a while but while it coats your insides it tries to repair any damages in your body. Henrik must have had enough of it inside of him to keep his blood production running at superhuman levels in a time of need. It won't happen again, so you were lucky it had been so recently that he drank it."

Elsa was not having a hard time processing all of the information, but she was bothered by something. "Hank's back. He has a bad back but it was not healed by the moss ale."

Grand Pabbie shrugged. "The only thing that can counteract the magic of the ale is a stronger magic. Was the origin of Henrik's injury magical in nature?"

Elsa shyly looked at the ground. More than enough of a confession. Grand Pabbie walked over to her and pat her slender shoulder. "Do not worry, Queen Elsa. We all make mistakes. Now, he will awake sometime in the next few days. It all depends on how tired he was when we began working on him. Do not be alarmed if he doesn't move until he wakes up." Grand Pabbie began walking away but Elsa reached out and stopped him with a hand.

"Wait. I have one more question, if I may?" This time it wasn't a command.

Grand Pabbie smiled warmly. The kind of affectionate smile an elder has for his family."Ask as many as you need, Elsa."

"When I offered you a token you said that you had already taken enough from me. What did you mean? I thought it was required to give a gift in return for the services of trolls?"

Grand Pabbie nodded. "You are correct."

"I have never given you anything though."

"You have," he assured. "Your father didn't."

Elsa crooked an eyebrow. "My father?"

Grand Pabbie sat down slowly, as if it was a burden for him to speak. "Yes, when your family came to us with Princess Anna many years ago; when she was in mortal danger. He did not have the kind of etiquette you displayed. Your father asked for our help and he was very kind, but he never offered anything in return for our services. So, we took something."

Elsa's heart beat faster. "Did you curse me?"

"No, nothing like that, nothing harmful physically. I would never do something like that. I'm not sure if you want to know, Elsa. You might be better off without the knowledge."

"I want to know," Elsa said firmly but fearfully. "I need to know, especially if this could affect Arendelle in any way."

"We traded life for a life."

Elsa's heart dropped. "How much longer do I have to live then? It mustn't be long."

"No, no, it was something else. We…well, we…" He was struggling to say it, as if years of reflection had made him regret.

Elsa refrained from speaking, but her eyes, her eyes were begging for him to get it out. Living so long didn't mean that you were wise enough to never make mistakes. It is the nature of the universe to be wrong sometimes. The absolute nature of the life provided Grand Pabby no comfort in the disdain for his actions many years ago. He was following the rules of his ancestors, but he was the elder now and had the option to discard them. His efforts to clean the name of trolls in the legends of humanity would be forever discredited by one single action done in haste and without proper judgement. The regret was made nearly physical by the joining of Kristoff, his own kin, to Elsa's sister. Their families are bound and he had already wronged them to the highest degree. He owed Elsa at the very least the honesty of his actions.

"Queen Elsa, I am so sorry. What we took from you was your children."

Elsa felt the familiar icy tinge in the back of her head. The one that warned her that she was losing control. "My children?" she managed to whisper.

Grand Pabby nodded stoicly. "Your father didn't offer a token so, by the laws of our people, I took your ability to birth children in exchange for Anna's life."

It was impossible for Elsa to speak. For the first time in her life, she was completely unable to understand. She understood her powers though, and understood that it was getting colder. She was able to comprehend that ice was slowly sweeping its way across the small plateau she was sitting on. She knew that something very bad was about to happen.

"I am a despicable creature," Grand Pabby spit out, showing anger for the first time Elsa could remember. "I'm sorry, but I don't want you to accept my apology. I will live with this until my time as elder has passed. Nothing will make up for your loss, and I know that it is on my shoulders. I should've just denied your father."

"Denied him?" Elsa gravelled. "And let Anna die? Would that really be better?" She clenched her fist; snow was building up in her palms.

"It is the way of our people. Even as the elder I cannot change some rules. I'm sorry."

Elsa shut her eyes tight and shook her head. She would never have children. Her God-given right as a woman was stripped of her forcefully. Her legacy, her future, her father's line, stolen from her by the creature standing not two feet away. "Your time as elder? How much longer do you have?"

Grand Pabby frowned slightly. "Nearly three thousand years."

"Too long."

She gathered her thoughts, focusing them onto the forces in her left hand. Wind, snow, hail, ice, sleet, slush, absolutely anything she could conjure was brought to the forefront of her being. Brain synapses fired and blood surged with the express purpose of utilizing her magic. The result of the most concentrated effort she had ever attempted with her powers was a small blue circle in the palm of her hand. The sphere looked like nothing more than a colourful ice-cube, but it was more than anyone in the world could imagine. Nobody without Elsa's ice powers could ever understand the sheer effort, the pure magic, behind the circle. She readied herself to push it forward in the most lethal use of ice magic ever devised. She was ready and willing for vengeance, God be damned if it was right or not.

But then she stopped.

The warm hand in hers found a way between Elsa and her dangerous thoughts before she could commit to anything. She had done everything she could to overcome the pressure of her powers and her love was the instrument of her redemption. Love for Anna, who she would give her own life a thousand times to save if given the option. Love for her parents, who she understands will always be with her and will always have an impact on her life. Love for Kristoff, Olaf, Sven, and the rest of her extended family who love her just as much. Love for Kai and Gerda, and the rest of the staff at the castle who work as hard as they can to make her happy. Love for the people of Arendelle and the place she knows as home. Love for the man sleeping beside her, who she wished to spend the rest of her days with and deserved better out of her. He would be disappointed, if not ashamed if she hadn't applied everything she learned to this one important moment. Elsa's love separates her from the thing she could become with her powers. Elsa's love is what dissolved the sphere in her hand into nothing.

"Go," she commanded and she was left alone with her soldier. She ran an appreciative hand through his hair and cuddled up next to him. Burying her face as far as she could into Hank's shoulder, she wept.

* * *

"The sled is ready whenever you are."

"Thanks Kristoff." Anna stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He had to lean down a bit.

In the sled were Rapunzel, Eugene, and nothing else. They hadn't had time to pack any supplies with them last night and they were all starving. The trolls had water, but nothing in the way of food. Earlier, Anna was starting to wish they had brought some of the bear with them.

And then she threw up.

The princess watched her sister carefully guide a floating slab of ice with Hank on it. She was straining far less than she had been the night before, a sign that her powers were still growing after all these years. Anna couldn't help but wonder what kind of level they would be at if she had practiced magic during her time locked away in her room instead of trying to hold it in. The thought was exciting and scary.

Nobody had said much of a word for the few hours since Elsa had come to them with news. She wasted no time giving the facts; Hank will be fine, let him rest, I will never have children, we're leaving right when the sun goes up. The calmness with which she delivered the worst news was the most unsettling part, as if she had already resigned herself to the fact. Anna and Rapunzel had shared each other's embrace to cry out their reaction, Kristoff was awkward and distant like usual in these instances, and Eugene had tried to go speak with Elsa. They found out very quickly that she wanted to be left alone. You could still see the remnants of snow in Eugene's dark hair.

But now, as she slid the makeshift stretcher into the back of the sled, Elsa seemed more confused than anything. There would be time for a long talk with her sister when they arrived back home. For now, Anna only wanted no setbacks on their return voyage.

"Let's go," Elsa spoke, drawing the concerned gaze of everyone. She gave them the weakest smile Anna had ever seen, but it was enough to get everyone to leave her be. Anna took her place in the front seat with Kristoff and pat her husband's thigh. With a flick of the reigns, Sven was off in the direction of home.

* * *

_A/N_

Yep.

This chapter took me two months to write and it has been somewhat of a burden. I'm actually behind because of this thing. This is the first time I wasn't completely finished the writing of a chapter before the day I set to post it. I'm not a fan with the way some of this turned out but it was killing my moment so I left it as is. Didn't do a whole ton of editing here either, so please point out things I might have missed in the reviews and I'll go back and fix them. Hope you liked it.

I'm going to be at the Motor City Comic Con on Friday. If anyone will be there be sure to say hi. I might be dressed as Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid. If I'm not in costume I'll have the hair and beard of him anyways. Please don't go there just to try and kill me.

"The Greatest Discovery" is the title of an Elton John song, like many of my titles. Look up the lyrics and you might get mad at me. They're pretty close to what I was going for with the title.

See you Saturday.


	9. Awakenings

Hank woke to the familiar sensation of needles in his spine. With half-lidded eyes he grit his teeth and rotated his lower body as quickly as possible.

_CRACK_

The breath he was holding forced itself out and his eyes jumped wide open. That one was much worse than usual. He laid back into the soft bed and tried to catch his breath. He hadn't had a crack like that since being frozen by Elsa, but this time he didn't have two girls to look tough in front of. He let out a whine and wiggled to get some feeling in his lower body. The only feeling he got was pain. Reserved to his fate he sunk his head into the pillow and sighed. His chest felt sticky, like when you accidentally touch a piece of candy that was just in your mouth. His chin was covered in a short beard, something Elsa certainly wouldn't have let happen in normal circumstances. The light leaking in the room from the tall window suggested it was mid-day. The room itself was well known to Hank as Elsa's.

"How long have I been out?" he asked the ceiling.

"Eight days," Kai answered him. "But you're alive."

Hank turned to his right lazily with a small frown. Elsa's personal servant was sitting on a chair next to the bed. He looked freshly pressed, and clearly hadn't been there long.

"Where's Elsa?" Hank asked.

"In the throne room, addressing citizens," Kai answered. "I forced her to go since she had neglected the duty for more than a week with everything that happened."

Everything that happened. It was then Hank remembered that he died. With great effort he sat up in the bed and felt his sticky chest. There was a large pink scar running from the edge of his left shoulder to the end of the ribs on his right side.

"How did I survive this?" Hank asked incredulously.

Kai held out his hands in a gesture signifying he had no idea. "You'll have to ask Elsa, or maybe Anna. The Princess and Baron Bjorgman were very quiet about their trip into the mountains and have spent most of their time with Princess Rapunzel. I haven't seen them much. Elsa, on the other hand, has been hostile to nearly everyone and everything. When she wasn't at your side here she was brooding in her study. Anyone who tried to speak with her was dismissed immediately. I can't really compare it to the Elsa of old, however. She is very visible and open about where she is, she is just entirely unapproachable. I'm hoping she was just waiting for you to wake up. It took days of trying to convince her in the few sentences I was allowed to see visitors today."

Hank swirled his jaw around. "So, Elsa is seeing townspeople today."

"That is what I said," Kai assured sarcastically.

"I need to go see her."

"Not yet," Kai insisted, leaning in his chair and placing a hand on Hank's shoulder. The guard could have pushed through easily but the firm grip made him pause. He looked Kai directly in the eyes and narrowed his own, giving him the kind of glare he would give an out-of-line citizen who needs to explain themselves. The glare that had earned many apologies from would-be thieves and errant children.

"Don't look at me like that," Kai ordered. "You may outrank me, but you can't order me around. I'm not going to keep you from Elsa, I just want to talk."

Kai's eyes looked tired and weary. They were friendly eyes though, and he looked more open than hostile. He even smiled, something Hank hadn't seen directed at him since his relationship with Elsa expanded. Hank nodded but said nothing, waiting for Kai to go on.

"I wish to speak to you about your relationship with Queen Elsa. I've never really communicated with you on that front. I may have come across as inappropriate at times."

"All the time," Hank corrected.

"Yes, well, it isn't what you think. In principle, I do approve of your relationship with Elsa, Captain Eriksson. I like you. You're a strong willed man with a good heart. What I don't approve of is the manner in which you are conducting your relationship. Elsa is the Queen of Arendelle and you're treating her like she's a farm hand's bastard daughter."

"Excuse me?" Hank growled, sliding to the edge of the bed and bringing himself within a foot of Kai.

"I don't mean it to insult you," Kai explained, throwing his hands up as if to show he was unarmed. "What I mean is that your relationship with Elsa, while maybe pure, is wholly scandalous and ill-befit of a royal."

"Scandalous," Hank repeated, knowing full well what Kai was talking about.

"Scandalous," Kai agreed, nodding his head carefully. "The last thing Arendelle needs is its unmarried Queen to become pregnant. As a Captain in the military, you have every means of legitimizing your bond with Elsa. Nobody would deny you, and Arendelle can withstand another generation of daughters marrying within the community."

"I don't know."

"The people have already accepted you, as they are wont to make known."

"I don't know."

"Do you love Elsa, Hank?"

Hank stared Kai right in the eyes. The deep brown orbs shone with more conviction than Kai had witnessed since Elsa's father had asked him to take on his position. Kai tried to hide the shock on his face. Hank said the only words he needed to say.

"I love her."

No fluff, no embellishment, just honesty. Kai realized that no matter what happened he would never sway the man in front of him. Hank would only do what he felt like the best choice was, no matter what the best choice actually is. The best Kai could hope for was to help him feel better about a choice.

"Captain Eriksson, I have spent my life in service to Arendelle. I knew your father as the lazy man he started out as and the great man he finished his life being. I have been with Elsa and Anna at every stage of their lives, from the delivery room to this bedroom just yesterday. I want what is best for my country. Right now I think that what is best for Arendelle is also what is best for Elsa, and that is you. You have cemented yourself in Elsa's heart and she would never be swayed. Political ties mean nothing when the emotional center of the kingdom is broken. Elsa and you, along with Anna and Kristoff, make up that center now and I want you to be part of it for real. I want you to marry Elsa."

Hank smiled. "Odd way to give me your blessing, Kai."

"So you will propose to her?" Kai asked.

Hank got up off the bed and stretched his back. Kai winced at the small cracks. Hank walked over to the closet, turning his back to Kai. "We'll see," Hank answered. He pulled a standard uniform of the royal guard out of the closet.

Kai spent a moment wondering why those clothes would be in Elsa's closet then shook the thought out of his head. He stood up to leave and frowned. "Don't fear commitment, Hank. Your father raised you into a good man and I'm sure he taught you about that."

"I've been asleep for eight days. I'll catch up with everything then worry about commitments."

Kai sighed and, with a polite bow, left him to his privacy.

* * *

Elsa clenched the edge of her throne and groaned. It seemed that the thing most people cared about was still money. She was hoping that seeing the people would relax her, instead she was growing increasingly angry. The last four citizens had complained about taxes and threatened to move. Elsa offered to pack their bags. She was in no mood to deal with this and it showed. The usually calm, if cold, and accepting Queen was positively horrid today to everyone who felt the need to air their grievances. It was hard to keep in mind that they didn't know what she was dealing with; they didn't even know that Hank had been injured. So, since it was so hard to remember, she didn't bother. Elsa figured she had suffered enough recently to earn a lack of patience for insignificant problems. At this point, she just wanted to finish up and go back to Hank.

Elsa waved her hand. The guard at the door nervously opened it once again to allow in a girl of around eighteen and a man that looked much older. Both of them looked positively fuming, but of a different sort than the trivial anger of the previous visitors.

"Queen Elsa," the man greeted quickly, forgoing a bow, "I need your help with a problem."

"What might that be?" Elsa asked, the warmth absent from her voice.

The man paused a second before continuing. A hint of fear flashed across his eyes, but he pressed on. "My daughter is an ungrateful baby who needs to be taught a lesson."

"This is beneath me," Elsa offered with a roll of her eyes.

"No, you see, my daughter is a disgrace," the man repeated, venom in his tone, "She goes sleeping around with all the local boys and tries to act like it's okay. She doesn't think about her actions and now she's pregnant."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. She uncrossed her long legs and elegantly crossed them the other way. She rested back into her large chair and crooked her head towards the girl. "I want two words. First is your name, the second is a yes or no. Is he correct?"

The girl shot a glare at her father before confidently stepping forward and curtseying for the Queen. "Meghan. No."

Elsa nodded slowly and rapped her fingers against the edge of the throne. "Explain."

"He doesn't treat me right, Your Majesty!" Meghan exploded. Elsa sat up straighter. "He treats me like I'm some little girl who can't think for herself. It just happened! I didn't want this!" By now she was hysterically in tears. Her father was shaking his head in disgust.

"Why are you bothering me with this?" Elsa asked whoever was willing to answer. She could feel the storm brewing and wasn't afraid to let it go today.

"I want you to use your magic powers to purge the baby," the father demanded. The icicle just missed his left ear. The gust of arctic wind didn't miss him at all. He shivered and coughed, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. Frost gathered at the ends of his moustache and on what little hair he had.

"Get the fuck out!" Elsa screamed. "I never want to see you again!" She was standing now, the jagged spikes shooting up around her the evidence of her unholy rage.

The man scrambled back a few steps and fell to the ground. The approaching ice and blowing snow striking a terror he had never imagined into his heart. "I-I'm s-s-s-" he tried to stutter through the cold.

"Leave now!" Elsa reaffirmed. The man got up as fast as he could and bolted for the open door; the guard had run out when the storm started. The Queen turned her attentions to Meghan who was cowering on the floor, trying to wipe her tears with her sleeves.

"Get up," Elsa ordered. "I wish to speak with you." The air stopped blowing and the storm turned into a light snowfall. Meghan struggled to get on her feet and face the Queen. She couldn't stop crying.

"I want you to understand just how serious of a gift a child is, Meghan," Elsa began, stepping down from her throne to place her on an even level. She was a full foot taller than the small girl. "God gave you the sacred ability to create life and you are making a mockery of it. Having children is a thing that should be cherished and treasured. Sleeping around is not the proper way to respect yourself and-"

"Leave the girl alone, Elsa. She's too scared to even understand you right now."

_It was true_, Elsa noticed. Meghan was close to breaking down again. Her lips were quivering and her eyes were fluttering a mile a minute. It probably didn't help that she had a foot of snow at her feet. Elsa waved a hand and it disappeared. She turned to the voice that stopped her, the rage only growing, but was greeted by what felt like the most welcome sight of her life.

"Hank," she tried to say, but her throat felt dry. He ran over to her and took her up in a hug. She happily slid her arms around his back and buried her face in his fresh uniform. Hank let go of her but kept her hand in his.

"You can go," he said to Meghan.

"Thank you so much, King Henrik!" the girl sobbed, finally letting out her tears.

"Captain Eriksson," Hank corrected sharply.

Meghan wiped her face on her now damp sleeve. She coughed quickly and smiled shyly. "Sooo, you're available then?"

Hank grabbed Elsa's other hand and was unsurprised to find it ice cold. One second later…

"You aren't making much of a case for yourself. Go!" Hank growled and the girl obeyed. He looked to Elsa and reached up to absentmindedly play with her long side-braid. "What's gotten into you?"

"I watched you get mauled by a bear, bleed onto me for hours, get manhandled by trolls, and then I stayed by your side for a majority of the last eight days where you gave no signs of waking up and this is what you ask me?"

Hank narrowed his eyes. "Stupid question." He took her up in a kiss and she melted. It had been so long for her, to the comatose Hank it felt like a few hours. When he started to pull away she grabbed the back of his head and held him in the kiss. Tears silently streaked down her pale cheeks.

"I missed you so much," she whispered when they finally broke for breath. "I begged God to let you stay with me, I prayed night and day for you to wake up soon."

"You pray?" Hank asked, stroking the light pink spot on her cheek that signified she had not gotten out of the fight untouched.

"I started when you were dying in my arms. I needed you back here."

Hank smiled at his best friend. The love she held for him was far beyond anything he had ever hoped someone could show him. His father's insistence had basically dulled his expectations for any woman, but Elsa had shown him the way. He couldn't imagine life without her. He didn't deserve all of this, but he intended to take what he wanted.

"I need to go to my house," Hank announced.

"No, stay with me," Elsa begged, wrapping herself around his arm.

"It's very important, Elsa. I'll only be an hour or so."

"I need to talk to you, Hank," Elsa said. "Things that happened while you were out…I can guarantee you that what I have to talk about is more important than whatever is at your house."

There was a rare appearance of Hank's smirk. "I'm not so sure about that."

"I am."

Hank frowned. "Please? An hour only, I promise. You won't regret it."

Elsa chewed her bottom lip and creased her brow. "Fine. Only an hour. I'll meet you in the study."

"Yes you will," Hank agreed. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before hurrying out of the throne room. Elsa watched him leave and felt her stomach turning. She wasn't looking forward to her next conversation.

* * *

_A/N_

Alright, I failed you.

There will be a delay on the last chapter. It is mostly written but I haven't had time to write this week and it doesn't look like I'll have it finished by Wednesday. I feel terrible about breaking the schedule and I'm truly sorry.

If by some miracle I finish by Wednesday, it will be posted then. If not, the earliest it will be posted is Wednesday, May 28 since I'll be away next weekend. The more likely posting date is May 31 but I'll try my hardest to get it out earlier. It WILL be the last chapter, and it will be somewhat big. It probably could be split but if I'm already making you wait I won't do that.

I'm going to be at Anime North in Toronto all three days next weekend, so if anyone else will be there make sure to say hello. I will be dressed either as Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid or Senketsu from Kill la Kill depending on the day. Feel free to wring my neck for making you wait for the conclusion too.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm glad to read the reviews and PMs of everybody who sends them, please keep them coming! If the language was too much for a T rating someone warn me and I'll amend it.


	10. A Finality to Things

Hank thrust his hands through the drawers in his father's bedroom, cursing his Dad's hoarding habit. As he swept his hands through the piles of junk inside, more just filled up the previously empty spots making sure that Hank accomplished absolutely nothing in his search. With a cry of frustration he ripped the drawer out of the dresser and emptied the contents onto the floor of the bedroom. Glass trinkets broke on the hardwood floors but Hank did not care one bit. His Dad probably wouldn't have even cared; he never looked in these drawers anyways.

Hank dropped to his hands and knees and sifted through the junk, spreading it all around to try and get a better look at everything. A few coins, some small toys from his childhood, one or two medals of service passed down through the family, a shaving kit, some kind of flute, a couple of brass rings with engravings, another shaving kit, a note, and no sign of the box he was searching for. Hank sighed and picked up the note.

_Dad, _

_Going to be late at the castle tonight with Queen Elsa, don't wait for dinner. _

–_Hank_

Hank scrunched the paper and gazed towards the sky.

"Why would you keep this note!?" he screamed, frustrated that he could never confront his Dad about his horrible knack for never getting rid of anything.

Hank grabbed at the drawer under the previous one and ripped it out of the dresser. Kicking aside all of the previous items he dumped the contents on the floor yet again. He could clean up later, he promised Elsa he would only be an hour and his pocket watch showed that it had already been thirty five minutes. He wouldn't be able to take his time going back to the castle.

He kicked the pile of junk in wild hope that he would get lucky. Looking down hurriedly, he couldn't help his eyes from lighting up. In a move that he found much too easy, Hank reached down and picked up the box he was looking for. He turned back to the sky and silently thanked whoever was on his side this day.

It was a small wooden box that had the initials H. E. roughly carved on the lid. Hank ran his hands over the marking before opening the box and chuckling at the memories.

* * *

"Hey, come into my room for a second!"

Hank rolled his eyes and put down the plate he was washing. He probably shouldn't humour his father and his obsession with pointless trinkets anymore, but he didn't have the heart to stop. He forced a smile and traversed the short distance from the kitchen to his father's room to find his Dad excitedly staring at a wooden box. His old brown eyes seemed mesmorized by the insignificant thing. Hank couldn't help but liken it to a child with a new toy. The contents of his father's drawers were spilled all over the floor in one of the biggest messes he had ever witnessed in the house. To him, it even rivalled Princess Anna's chocolate disaster of last year, and they had almost commissioned a stain glass window for that.

"Nice box, Dad," Hank sarcastically drawled. "Are you sure the racoons won't miss their latest scrap of garbage?"

"I didn't raise you to be so ornery, Hank," Will scolded. "I don't think the Queen is looking to date an asshole either."

"I'm not looking to date the Queen!" Hank defended. "For the last time, Dad, please leave that alone."

The knowing gleam in the older man's eyes warned Hank that he would never leave that alone. With a sigh Hank sat on the bed next to his father and waited for an explaination. Will slipped his arm around his son and brought the box closer to his view. It was plain, wooden, and had crude initials carved into the top. H. E., his mother's initials. He raised an eyebrow, his curiosity appropriately piqued.

"This is the most important box in the world," Will explained, "Because you were born from it."

Hank frowned. "I'm pretty sure I was born from a different box, Dad."

He deserved the smack he received. He must have spent too much time with Elsa recently, who would have gotten an adorable blush to accompany her smile from that line.

"Metaphorically, Son." Will opened the box to reveal a modest diamond ring. A slim, simple silver band topped with a rock no bigger than a quarter inch. It was the kind of thing Hank liked, a taste imported from the teachings of his Mom.

"This is your mother's engagement ring. I spent two full month's pay on it, and was only able to eat in those months because the King gifted me with food. He offered to pay for the whole thing but I refused, this was something I had to do for myself." Will smiled nostalgically and passed the box to Hank. He inspected it for a moment, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do.

"Why does it say H.E. on the lid?" the son asked.

"What do you mean?" the father countered.

"She wasn't married to you yet. It should have said H. A. for Helena Aakre."

Will laughed and slapped Hank's back. "That is exactly what she asked before opening the box! My God, Hank, her eyes. Her eyes were more beautiful than any diamond I could have bought when she realized why I had put those initials on it. She was crying before she even got the thing opened."

Hank looked inside the box again, appreciating the red velvet inlay the ring sat in and the carefully greased hinges on the back of the lid. Everything about the item in his hands screamed love.

"Why are you showing me this now?" Hank asked.

"Well, you bring that to work tomorrow where Queen Elsa will be waiting for you like usual. Then you-"

"It's not funny if this whole thing was supposed to be a joke."

Will swirled his jaw and frowned. "I'm sorry. It isn't a joke. I just was thinking about Helena and…well, I know she would have wanted you to have this one day. When you're ready, when you find that girl, this box is yours, Hank."

Will carefully took the box from Hank's hands, closed the lid and placed it once again in one of his dresser drawers.

* * *

Without even realizing what he was doing, Hank was running out of the door. The box was tucked safely into the pocket of his uniform, but that didn't stop him from feeling for it every few seconds. He really shouldn't be running so soon after an eight day coma, and his legs were constantly reminding him so. His muscles screamed and stretched in protest but he pushed them, because for better or worse he had found that girl. He was far beyond the point of caring about consequences. Dying does that to a man.

"Nice stride, Hank!" a neighbor called. He ignored it and pushed on, running through the village as fast as he could and trying as hard as possible not to slow down. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the tears in hers before he left. Every time he thought about slowing down he was whipped on by the anger she displayed to that girl in the throne room. She needed him now and he was determined not to make her wait one second past the time he had promised. He would finally give her everything he had.

Panting as he ran, he caught sight of the familiar docks looming on the horizon. He was getting close.

* * *

The sled pulled past the docks late afternoon. There was no fanfare or celebration, not even a small group to greet them. _Good_, Elsa thought, knowing that it was for the best if she didn't see any citizens for a while. For the first time in what felt like years the Queen turned her attentions away from her thoughts and surveyed her companions. Eugene was eyeing Corona's ship in the harbour, showing not just trace hints of the longing in his heart. Rapunzel was cuddled up next to him, sleeping peacefully. Ghosts of tears were haunting her cheeks but at least her dreams seemed pleasant. They didn't deserve this and they never should have gone out into the wild. Elsa clutched at Hank's motionless hand to harvest its warmth. For the entire trip back she was alternating between her guard's hands, switching when she had made one too cold. It disgusted her to use him like this but she didn't know what else to do. Every time she felt the heat of his blood was a reminder that his heart still beat, that he would be back with her.

She was going to sneak a peek at Anna and Kristoff but knew exactly what they would be doing. Kristoff would be staring straight ahead and looking horribly uncomfortable. Maybe he would be frowning in concern, but he wouldn't show much past that. Anna was staring at her, she could feel the gaze. Elsa had no intentions of meeting her eyes for a little while.

The sleigh stopped in front of the stables and Kristoff jumped out as quickly as he could. Running up to Sven he inspected his reindeer thoroughly, rubbing the muscles in his legs, patting down his fur, checking the bottoms of his hooves, until Sven nudged him away. The reindeer smiled and nodded his head. Tears welling in his eyes, Kristoff wrapped the animal in a bear hug and refused to let go.

"I thought I was going to lose you on this one, Buddy," Kristoff sobbed. From her place in the sleigh, Anna smiled and clutched at her heart. Elsa wanted to react; to cry, to laugh, to do something. She couldn't. It bothered her how much nothing she felt.

"I won't leave you that easily, Kristoff," 'Sven' replied in an equally choked off tone.

Eugene gently shook Rapunzel awake and helped her to the ground. He rounded to the back and stared at Elsa for a few moments. She returned him an icy glare. She knew she shouldn't have, she knew he was just trying to help, but she didn't care. For what felt like the hundredth time her life had been turned upsidedown and she was tired of it. She was angry.

"Want me to help bring him in?" Eugene asked, not at all deterred by her cold demeanor.

"No," Elsa replied, calmly and sternly. "If you want to leave, I want you to get on your ship and go home. I don't need your pity."

"Elsa!" Anna scolded. Elsa didn't even turn around to address her.

"I'm not in the mood, Anna."

Eugene looked from Elsa to Hank and narrowed his eyes a bit. "I'm not leaving until I can thank him."

Elsa's face went unchanged. She wished she could express how happy that made her. She wished she could just show her friends how much their support meant. She just couldn't. Everything that had happened had dulled her heart and she imagined it would take more than a whetstone to sharpen her up.

The Queen nodded and stood up. She used one hand to shoo Eugene away and the other to conjure up another slab of ice under Hank. This time she showed virtually no effort as she levitated the ice off of the sleigh. Her companions could only watch in amazement as she carried him all the way across the long bridge leading to the castle and kept going. An icy wind knocked the large wooden door open. Nearby workers, maids, guards, and servants alike cowered out of Elsa's way and shivered with the cold air she wrought. She marched without slowing and without breaking her attention from the task at hand. She didn't stop until she reached her bedroom at the top of the castle.

She lowered the makeshift stretcher to the ground and gradually dissolved it with the rubbing of her fingers together, lowering Hank safely to the ground. She propped her arm against the wall and sighed heavily, the act of carrying him here being way more strenuous than she anticipated.

"Queen Elsa?" she heard from the end of the hallway.

She grit her teeth and clenched her fist. The spot on the wall where she was leaning started to freeze solid. "I'm not in much of a mood for talking right now, Kai," she answered, turning her hauntingly calm face to his person. He looked unfazed by her threatening posture but betrayed his worry when he glanced at Hank.

"What happened to Captain Eriksson?"

"Ask Anna."

He took a few steps closer but an outstretched hand from the Queen stopped him.

"Elsa…"

"Just leave me alone!" she screamed, tears freezing on her cheeks. "I want to be alone…"

Kai stood his ground. "Would you like help bringing him into your room?"

Elsa's outstretched hand clenched at something that wasn't there and a jagged wall of ice spikes shot up from the ground between her and Kai. From her side of the wall, the Queen slumped to her knees and pulled Hank into her lap. She stroked his unconscious face and cried, praying for him to wake up.

From Kai's side of the ice, the servant marveled at the small cut that had just appeared in his forearm, the offending icicle laying bloodstained on the ground next to him. He wondered if she had meant to do it or if it was just a side effect of her distress. Either way, it was a stern enough warning; he was going to leave her alone for a while. He covered up the cut quickly, not wanting anyone to see it. If he got it wrapped quickly there would barely be a mark the next time he tried to speak with the Queen. If it was an accident, seeing the cut would only worsen her condition. He picked the icicle up and hurried off to his quarters, praying that whatever ailed Elsa would be alleviated soon.

* * *

Hank ran across the long bridge to the castle, attracting stares and raised eyebrows from any who saw him. Anyone who knew Hank would have never expected to see the sight of him actually doing something urgent on the job. He was well regarded as the most coddled guard in the history of Arendelle, with the most stress free job they could imagine. Nonetheless, here he was running into the castle as if his life depended on it and that action begged attention.

"Eriksson!" he heard a newly familiar voice yell. He ignored the voice but slowed to a halt when a hand reached out to grab for his shoulder. He frowned and turned to the foreigner.

"I'm in a hurry, Rider, could we talk later?"

"Eugene," the taller man corrected, "And I've been waiting eight days to talk to you."

Hank swirled his jaw and pulled his pocket watch out. He still had ten minutes.

"Okay."

"Okay? That's it? You're out for a week and you don't have any questions? No, 'I missed you?' Just, okay?"

"It felt like a good night's sleep to me," Hank explained.

"It felt like an eternity to us," Eugene countered. "To Elsa."

Hank fumbled around with the box in his pocket and nodded. The men looked at each other for a few moments. Hank wondered how long this was going to take. Eugene wondered what to say next. He opted for action instead.

Hank narrowed his eyes as Eugene swept him up in a warm hug. It didn't take long for his face to soften into a smile and for him to return the embrace. Hank smacked Eugene's back twice and ended the hug.

"A beard suits you, Hank," Eugene complimented.

Hank shrugged. "Elsa will shave it off as soon as she feels like it."

Eugene chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows knowingly. Hank rolled his eyes but chuckled a bit too.

"I needed to thank you," Eugene said. "Thank you. You saved my life and, more importantly, Rapunzel's."

Hank shook his head firmly. "Elsa saved your lives."

"Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't sacrificed yourself like that," Eugene argued. "As far as I care, you're the hero here."

"Eugene, I don't-"

"Just accept my thanks. Please."

Hank frowned but nodded. They were awkwardly silent for another few moments. Eugene cleared his throat.

"So what's got you in a hurry?"

"I'm taking your advice," Hank replied.

Eugene looked confused for an instant before his eyes lit up with realization. He clasped Hank's shoulder affectionately.

"Next time, you're coming to Corona," Eugene insisted, "And I want you to be wearing a crown."

"We'll see," Hank answered before a push from Eugene sent him back on his path. Once again, he started running to Elsa's study.

* * *

_Knock, Knock, Knock._

"Elsa?"

"I don't think we should be bothering her, Anna," Rapunzel whispered.

"Oh come on, it's been five days since we got back. I think we've given her enough time to brood."

"This is a bit different than losing a favourite dress or something, Anna," Rapunzel warned.

"Sometimes I lose one of my arms," a snowman spoke up from beneath them.

"I know," Anna said to both of them, reaching down to pat Olaf's head. "I just don't want to leave her alone, and I want to see Hank."

Anna knocked again. "Come on, Elsa, let us in."

"The doors unlocked," Elsa yelled at the door. Her voice had a bit of an edge that made Anna hesitate. Olaf didn't hesitate and pushed through the door into Elsa's room. Anna and Rapunzel nervously went in behind him.

"Hey, Elsa! I haven't seen you in so long! I haven't got to tell you what it was like to be King yet."

Anna observed the room and found it mostly the same. Same plain walls, same four poster bed, same carpet by the large window. Hank was motionless on Elsa's bed and she was sitting on a chair next to him, holding his hand. There was a bottle of some sort of alcohol on the vanity with a glass.

"Wow, he looks clean," Olaf said, jumping onto the bed to see Hank.

"I try to keep him washed," Elsa explained to the snowman with a tired smile. "It's hard, he's heavy." She ran a hand through the stubble on his cheeks. "I won't shave him until he's awake though."

"How are you doing, Elsa?" Anna asked.

"How do you think I'm doing, Anna?" Elsa sarcastically returned.

"Come on, we have a guest," the younger girl pleaded. Elsa acknowledged Rapunzel with a polite nod.

"I know and I think she understands."

Rapunzel shook her head. "I understand but I'll never know what it's really like. I'm sorry, Elsa."

"It isn't your fault," the Queen offered.

"Don't worry," Olaf comforted with a stick arm on Elsa and Hank's conjoined hands. "He'll wake up soon."

Elsa frowned. "No, Olaf, it isn't-…yes, thank you. I know he will, especially with kind people like you watching over him."

"Wow, you seem to be in a good mood," Anna observed with a smile. Elsa flashed her a glare and signaled with her eyes to Olaf, the innocent snowman. The younger sister frowned in concern.

"Elsa's always in a good mood, Anna!" Olaf cheered. Anna couldn't help herself from letting out a very inappropriate snigger. Luckily nobody seemed to notice. "How about we talk about something happy?" Olaf continued. "Who else is _super_ excited for Anna's baby!"

Elsa flinched. Rapunzel started eyeing the door lustily and Anna could feel the beginnings of sweat on her brow. The happy snowman just bounced in his spot, looking to each girl in the room.

"What, nobody is looking forward to it?" he asked. His eyes widened. "Not even _Anna_!?"

Elsa set her hand on Olaf's head and rubbed it gently. "We're all very excited, Olaf. Trust me." The sad gleam in the Queen's eyes betrayed her true feelings. Anna was positive she was staring at the very face of longing, the visage of someone who will never have what they want the most.

"I just wish I could know what it's like to be a mother," Elsa added with a fake smile. Rapunzel whimpered and turned around, hiding her face. Anna felt guilty, even though she knew she shouldn't. Olaf was confused though.

"Don't you already know, Elsa?" he asked quietly.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he started before trailing off, looking down and swirling his little snow foot in place on the bed. If snow could blush Anna was sure she would be seeing it right now. "You created me and I've always…well, I've always kind of seen you as my mother."

For a split second, Anna thought this would fix everything. When the Queen's fake smile looked real and pride shone in her platinum-framed portrait of a face. Then it all came crumbling down in a waterfall of tears as Elsa buried her face in Hank's chest and wept. Olaf reached out for her back but Anna grabbed him quickly and pulled him off the bed.

"It's okay, Olaf, let's go," she urged, pulling him along by his twig arm. She grabbed Rapunzel too, who seemed like she was barely keeping it together, and hurried them all out of the room. Olaf glanced back to the sight of Elsa hugging Captain Eriksson like her life depended on it before the door was shut and all he had left before him was the sound of his mother's tears.

* * *

Two quick knocks on the door. Elsa looked to the grandfather clock in the corner. _59 minutes_, she thought.

"Come in, Hank."

He opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. He looked nervous. Elsa wasn't used to that.

"What did you get at your house?" she asked.

Hank swirled his jaw around. "First, tell me what you wanted to earlier," he said. "Please," he added when she looked very disapproving.

She sighed and stood from her chair at the desk. Hank followed her to the couch in front of the hearth and took a seat when she patted the cushion next to her. She crossed her legs a few times to try and get comfortable until Hank slid his arm around her shoulders. She snuggled into his side and relaxed.

"Kai told me you were wondering how you lived through your wound," Elsa started. She stroked his chest along the line where she knew the giant pink scar was. She was very happy to see him barely react to the touch. "The trolls told me it was their ale that we drank at Anna's wedding."

Hank's face contorted and his eyes begged an explanation. She gave him one. "They said it had healing properties in it that did something to increase the production of your blood. It kept you alive."

"No wonder that slop tasted like medicine," Hank said. Elsa smiled faintly, missing him. She missed the way he said these kinds of things without even realizing he was telling a joke. Eight days was longer than she remembered from the last time she waited for something. It mustn't have been important.

"I wish none of this ever happened," Elsa whispered. Hank immediately reached over to try and take her in an embrace but she pushed him away. "I'm not finished yet." He politely sat straight on the couch and folded his hands in his lap, as if he needed to show Elsa he would not be moving them towards her again until she asked for it. The corner of her lips crooked up but she forced it back down, trying to get into an appropriate mood.

"The trolls told me something else, Hank. Do you remember when I explained to you why I was isolated in my room for so long?" Hank shook his head. Elsa wouldn't say it but she felt betrayed. "You don't remember?"

"You never told me."

"Oh." She uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way, tapping the tips of her fingers together. "You were never curious enough to ask?"

"Of course I was," Hank replied. "I wondered that every single day I brought you dinner, I wondered it when we would eat dinner together, I wondered while I sat with you in this very room as you did your work, I wondered it while I watched you sleep next to me in the nights; I just didn't want to bother you with asking. It's obviously something very personal."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. That was way more words than Hank would usually use.

"Are you okay, Hank? What did you get at your house?"

"I'll tell you when you're finished explaining to me what happened with the trolls," he said in a nervous forceful tone.

Elsa pursed her lips and uncrossed her legs. Catching her nervous habit, she froze her thighs with the tap of a finger and exhaled deeply. Hank frowned and reached for her legs but she slapped his hand away.

"I'm just going to say it and get it over with," Elsa began. "I'm barren."

Hank's face was unchanged and he was naturally quiet. She watched his pupils change size as he processed the information.

"When I was a kid the trolls took my ability to have children in exchange for Anna's life." No tears, the Queen was impressed with herself. "A fair trade, all things considered."

Hank nodded and swirled his jaw around. He was looking for words and Elsa let him. She suddenly felt a lot more patient.

"I-" he paused and scratched at the stubble on his chin. "I'm-" his lips twisted and he ran a hand through his hair. Finally, he slouched in his seat and undid the top button of his uniform. "There really is nothing to say to that, is there?"

"No, I guess not," Elsa replied, calm as an ancient stone. She rubbed her fingers together and her thighs unfroze. She gently got up and retrieved a fancy bottle of foreign cognac and an empty glass on her desk. Taking her seat next to Hank she poured a stiff drink. He watched her down half of it like it was water. She offered him the glass and he took it, drinking the rest. She took it back from him and poured another.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to drink in my uniform?" Hank teased uneasily. She drank the entire glass this time before pouring another one and handing it to him.

"When have I ever upheld that rule?" she countered. He shrugged and took a sip of his drink. Elsa's saliva was all over the rim of the cup from her sloppy chugging. He eyed it suspiciously, unsure if she would get mad at him for wiping it off.

"If you drink enough of that it makes you forget for a little," Elsa whispered pointing to the glass in his hand.

Hank swished the contents around and took another small sip. "That's what my Dad used to say too." Elsa held her hand out for the glass expectantly. Instead, Hank put the glass on the end table on his side of the couch. "Drinking never brought my Mom back, Elsa. It never really helped him either."

"Well, it helps me. Let me have this." Elsa cuddled into his side and tried to reach over him. He pushed her back down and grabbed her hip to keep her in place. He watched her frown, but what he felt was the cold creeping from his fingertips up to his wrist and through the large veins in his forearms. He bit back a scream and forced his stiff arm up to her face. Realization flickered in her eyes and the cold dispersed, heat slowly returning to his blood.

Hank tested his fingers and was glad to see everything moved. "I'm not going to hold that against you," he offered. She nodded slowly. No tears, she was very impressed with herself. She shimmied down the couch a few inches to separate herself from Hank. They were quiet for a few minutes, Hank flexing his arm and circling his wrist, Elsa staring at the open hands in her lap. She felt the warmth of the alcohol in her throat finally making its way to her tummy, heating up her abdomen.

"Hank?"

"Yeah?"

"If it were up to you…" she turned to look into his eyes, expecting hate, and finding something worse. Indifference. "Would you make that deal again?"

His creased features softened and he tentatively reached a hand to her lap, grabbing one of her own. "What do you mean?"

"Anna's life for my ability to have children. Would you make that deal again if you had the choice?"

His dark eyes were wet and quavering. Elsa wondered how she looked, and hoped her visual façade was as strong as her vocal one.

"Is it bad if I said no?" Hank mumbled. There was only so long these tears would stay back, still she impressed herself further.

"Yes."

He let go of Elsa's hand so that he could bury his face in his own. "I know," he answered, dejected.

She rubbed his back as he stayed in that position, head in hands, hiding his face from her. She reached over him for the glass of cognac but stopped herself halfway there. Now wasn't the time.

"I've been thinking about this, Hank," Elsa said. He didn't move. "Thinking about what's best to do." She grabbed the back of his hair gently and pulled his head up to face her. He wasn't crying like she thought. "I want you to get on that ship with Rapunzel and Eugene tomorrow."

He frowned and motioned to speak but she shushed him with a finger to his mouth.

"I want you to go to Corona and live a new life there without all of the ghosts of Arendelle. Eugene would be happy to take you into the palace guard and I'm sure he would give you a very comfortable position. You can move on and forget about everything here, forget about me. Find yourself a nice, normal woman and settle down with a large happy family. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Hank pursed his lips. "Permission to speak freely, Queen Elsa?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "You've had that since you met me, Captain Eriksson."

"Then how about you _shut the fuck up_!"

Elsa recoiled from the roar. His brow was furrowed and his teeth were bared. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her face closer to his. A snowfall began almost immediately and she felt her body icing up. She did her best to stop from freezing him in fear. He looked like he was going to hit her. Her tears still wouldn't flow.

"You really think that's the best thing for everyone right now? You think I would just be able to move away and forget you? This is the kind of thing we work through together, Elsa. What the hell has gotten into you?"

His face was less than three inches away from hers. She held her breath and steeled herself for her response. "I should ask you the same," she rebounded, staying quiet to contrast his yelling. "Cursing is no way to address your Queen."

"Does it seem to you like I give a damn about formality right now?"

"Maybe you should, or I won't listen to you," Elsa said, turning her head from his.

"Elsa," he pleaded. "I realized a long time ago I could never leave you. I've been attached to you in some way for nearly ten years. You are my life. It hurts me deeply that you could ever even think that sending me away would fix anything. We'll deal with this, we'll hurt together but we'll be okay. We'll move on and love our lives. Are you listening to me, Elsa?"

She didn't react. Hank felt like his blood was boiling despite the snow falling onto his skin and the frostbite taking his fingers. He grabbed her chin and forced her back to his eyes.

"I'm going to say my piece and freezing me dead is the only way to stop me."

Elsa narrowed her eyes. He was actually daring her to do it, daring the Queen of Ice and Snow to kill him.

"You would challenge me when I'm in this state?" Elsa spat. He pulled her even closer and she could feel his breath tickling her lips.

"I would challenge you whenever you needed it," Hank promised. "Because I know you would never do it. I know you will always do the right thing in the end. Not for me, not for Anna, not for your parents, not for Arendelle, but for you." She closed her eyes but he shook her head, forcing them open. He leaned in so far his lips were lightly brushing against hers. The arm he was using to hold her slid down her curves, leaving a trail of melted dress in its wake before settling tightly on her ribcage. "What are you going to do? What do you want, Elsa?"

What did she want? She wanted Anna to be safe and healthy. She wanted the prosperity of her kingdom and its people. She wanted children. But in that moment there was only a single thing on Elsa's mind. A thought that consumed her entire being and made her limbs slack. A thought that calmed the snow and thawed everything around her. She could only find her voice in a strained whisper.

"I want to be with you, Hank."

"Good."

And he kissed her. She was so enamoured in the kiss she didn't even notice him remove his grip from her jaw and grab something out of his pocket. She entangled her fingers in his hair and forced her tongue into his mouth as he tried to push something into her hand. Every spot he touched her became bare as her dress instantly melted at the contact. Tired of his pushing against her hands she accepted the object and continued on. Hank slipped out from beneath her and stood, taking a few steps away from the couch.

"Elsa, wait-"

He was silenced once again by her lips. Expertly, she fashioned a wickedly sharp razor out of her ice and swiped it once down the length of Hank's abdomen. His uniform jacket and shirt were cut away leaving bare chest and the faintest long line of red where she nicked him. He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm's length before she could continue.

"Wait, Elsa, wait! Look at the damn box!" he begged. "That is what I went home for!"

Her curiosity engaged, Elsa finally paid attention to the item in her hands. A slim wooden box with the initials H. E. crudely carved into the lid. She looked to Hank, silently asking an explanation.

"I made a decision, Elsa. That's something I should have done for you a long time ago," Hank said, the nervousness creeping back into his face. "Open it, I promise you I'm serious."

Elsa raised an eyebrow and carefully ran her hands over the varnished wood. She traced the initials with her hands, thinking that she knew exactly what it was but not wanting to get ahead of herself. She opened the box slowly, craning her neck to get a peek inside…

Then shut it as fast as she could.

"What-" Hank tried to ask before getting cut off.

"Is it really the best time for this?" she asked.

He nodded, sure of himself. "No better time." The Queen tapped her fingers along her thighs and stared at him.

"Take a knee, Henrik," Elsa ordered. He did so willingly, his lips twisting in confusion.

"Hold out you hand," she continued. He complied and she placed the box in his open palm. The hurt burning in his features was oddly adorable to her. She caressed his cheek lovingly and smiled, her eyes beginning to water up.

"Do it properly," she instructed, her voice cracking on the last syllable.

Smiling in relief, Hank cleared his throat. "Elsa, will-"

"You aren't getting off that easy," she interrupted. "Kings need to address their people and you need to work on that. Embellish it, Hank."

The soldier swirled his jaw around and switched the knee he was leaning on. He thought for a moment. "If I knew that we would be in this position right now all those years ago when you scolded me for knocking on your door I probably would have turned tail and ran. The idea of what I'm about to do is terrifying and exciting, and I can't do it with anyone else. Everything in my life the last few years has been you and you are all I want to know. I've loved you for a long time." Hank opened the box and presented the modest ring to her. "Elsa, was that a decent enough speech to make you want to marry me?"

She couldn't hold in her wide smile, all teeth. "Short, I guess, but sweet." There were tears, finally. Probably the best feeling tears in her life. "Are you sure you want to marry someone who can't bear your children?"

Hank smiled. "I'll only ever want to marry you."

"Then I accept," Elsa replied, trying to sound regal. Instead, she sounded like an excited ten year old. "Now stand up and kiss me, Captain Henrik Eriksson."

Hank got up slowly, his wobbling knees betraying him. She grabbed his shoulder to steady him and held out her left hand. Hank removed the ring from the wooden box, nearly dropping it with fumbling fingers. He slid the ring onto Elsa's finger and frowned when it was a little bit too big.

"We can get it fitted," she assured him before throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a grandiose kiss.

There she was, the Queen of Arendelle, kissing her best friend, her most trusted guard, and her fiancé. Her dress showing skin through the handprints and spots where it melted, his uniform sliced wide open down the middle. She has selective anxiety issues, bouts of depression, the unique ability to manipulate ice and cold, and she would never have children of her own. However, she also has her family, her friends, and her love. What more could she ask for?

She'll be okay.

* * *

_A/N_

This wasn't edited much so make sure to point stuff out and I'll go back and fix it. I was so exhausted after this I was afraid I would start to change everything if I read it over too in-depth and then it would be delayed another two weeks.

It's finished! If you would have told me _two months ago_ when I had 25,000 words of this thing finished already that I wouldn't be done until today I would have laughed at you. What started as a 10k one-shot sequel kept inflating into something rivaling Split the Ice Apart in length. It's better for it.

Tell me what you think please, either in reviews or PMs. I want to know how you all feel about the ending. I warned some it would be bittersweet and I think I delivered on that. What were your favourite parts of this story and your favourite chapters? I would love to know.

I do have a part 3 in mind BUT I don't have the drive to do it entirely by myself. I want part 3 to be community made, as in, made by all the people who have enjoyed this up until now and I. If you would like to be involved in a writing, editing, advising, whatever role for part 3 send me a PM and I'll get this sorted out. There is already some interest from a few writers. I'll take as many people as possible and I will not discriminate in any way. If you want in, you get in.

Thanks for reading, I know this wasn't as good as Split the Ice Apart but I hope you liked it anyways. Until next time,

AirbornAnomaly


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